Across Europe, more than 50 countries “are paying the ultimate price”, said WHO Regional Director Dr. Hans Kluge, only days since Earth recorded its warmest average temperature yet, at 17.16 degrees Celsius (62.89 Fahrenheit), and as exhausting summer heatwaves hit across the northern hemisphere. Dr. Kluge said that the three warmest years on record in
Read MoreWHO’s Dr Gauden Galea said that the impacts are far-reaching including domestic violence, accidents and mental health issues. He called on countries to implement effective policies to reduce drinking. How much are Europeans drinking? The numbers tell a sobering story: men in the region drink nearly four times more than women and 470 million people
Read MoreResults from 17 countries showed that boys and girls aged seven to nine spent more time looking at screens and less time playing outside, mirroring an increase in overweight children in this same age range. More than 50,000 children were surveyed from 2021-23, following the start of the worldwide shutdowns in March 2020. A nuanced
Read MoreThe UN Children’s Fund’s investigation, Pathways to Better Protection, reveals that children with disabilities account for up to 87 per cent of those in care, where data is available. And the numbers of unaccompanied and separated children seeking asylum in such institutions in western Europe is on the rise. “We have a long way to
Read MoreDelivering his first message of the new year, Dr. Hans Kluge stressed that without vaccines, the death toll on the continent “could have been around four million, possibly even higher.” More than 2.5 million COVID-19 deaths, and 277 million confirmed cases, were reported in the vast WHO European Region, which comprises 53 countries stretching from
Read MoreIn an alert, the agency emphasized that heatwaves are amongst the deadliest natural hazards and WMO Senior Heat Advisor, John Nairn, told reporters that extreme temperatures are poised to grow in frequency, duration and intensity. “Repeated high night-time temperatures are particularly dangerous for human health because the body is unable to recover from sustained heat”,
Read MoreAccording to a report issued by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, during 2022, multiple nations in the region had their warmest year on record but the expanded use of renewable energy provides a silver lining. Extreme heat, drought and wildfire, marine heatwaves, unprecedented glacier melt – the
Read MoreThe Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Europe and Central Asia 2022 report is a joint effort by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); Agricultural Development fund, IFAD; the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF); the UN Development Programme (UNDP); the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE); the World Food Programme (WFP); the World Health
Read MoreThe report on children’s rights is the first of its kind to bring together existing data and analysis for all countries in the region, while highlighting critical data gaps that need to be filled. Data deficit UNICEF Regional Director Afshan Khan said the war in Ukraine, the pandemic, climate change and the current economic and
Read MoreWhile European prisons managed adequate COVID-19 pandemic responses for inmates, concerns remain about poor mental health services, overcrowding and suicide rates, the report stated. “Prisons are embedded in communities and investments made in the health of people in prison becomes a community dividend,” said Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, regional director of the WHO regional
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