Approximately one third of people in the Americas are at increased risk of developing severe COVID-19 illness due to underlying health conditions. To help confront this, the WHO Regional Office of the Americas/PAHO, in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, have developed a new data model that provides a more accurate picture of the prevalence of underlying health conditions in the Americas. WHO works with the Ministry of Health and Medical Education to serve the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran to deliver vital equipment and medicines, train health workers and raise awareness in communities across the country. Computed Tomography (CT) scanning is a key component of clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 patients. WHO has delivered 16 CT scan machines to strengthen the Islamic Republic of Iran’s emergency response to COVID-19. WHO has chronicled the experience of Dr Altynai Karakhoishiyeva, an obstetrician-gynaecologist working in Municipal Maternity Hospital No. 1 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She has worked at this hospital throughout the pandemic when it became a place of quarantine for pregnant women suspected of having COVID-19. WHO is helping redesign hospitals to ensure and optimise mitigation measures against COVID-19. In Italy, WHO is providing advice on how to create alternative routes in hospitals for confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19 as well as how to ensure better spacing in waiting rooms and improve ventilation in order to minimise spread of the virus in health care settings.
Listen to “Policy and Right WHO Public Q&A with Michael Ryan and Maria Van Kerhove” on Spreaker.
