A national Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) coordination taskforce is working on the RCCE response planning and implementation of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the post-blast phase to identify priority actions, create messages and strategies, and coordinate work on the ground to avoid duplication, and share best practices and...

31 August 2020 - The Beirut port blast on 4 August ripped a city to shreds and reopened old wounds for a fragile population already facing civil unrest, an ongoing socio-economic crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The blast killed more than 178 people, left more than 6,500 injured, 300,000 people homeless, and severely damaged critical health...

Beirut port blast Emergency strategic response plan, August–December 2020On 4 August 2020, a major explosion in main port of Beirut reaped devastating consequences on the city and its people, leaving over 170 reported deaths, more than 6500 injured, and displacing approximately 300 000 people. The blast also left approximately 120 patients in...

23 August 2020 – Two weeks after the explosion that damaged several areas of Beirut, Qaratina Public Hospital is still reeling from the damage. The hospital is located a few hundred metres from the epicentre of the blast and is one of 3 hospitals in the area that were totally...

16 August 2020 – Ten days after the Beirut blast killed hundreds, injured thousands, and devastated homes, businesses, and other infrastructure, Sister Nicolas Akiki, general director, sits in her office on the ground floor of the destroyed Rosary Sisters Hospital. The private, non-profit facility is located Wardiyah, just a few hundred meters...

5 August 2020, Beirut, Lebanon – A plane carrying 20 tonnes of WHO health supplies has landed in Beirut, Lebanon, to support the treatment of patients injured by the massive blast that occurred in the city on 4 August. The supplies will cover 1000 trauma interventions and 1000 surgical interventions for people suffering from injuries and burns...

Cairo/Beirut, August 6, 2020 – As the public health impact of the Beirut blast becomes clearer, WHO is calling for US$ 15 million to cover immediate emergency trauma and humanitarian health needs and ensure the continuity of the response to COVID-19 across the country. “We are particularly concerned about overburdened hospital and health...

27 July 2020 – Changing our behaviour is key to limiting transmission of COVID-19 and saving lives during the pandemic. WHO recommends a range of measures to protect yourself and others, of which one of the most important is maintaining at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and others. COVID-19 is influencing and changing cultural...

Click to expandUnderstanding the modes of transmission of infective agents, such as viruses and bacteria, is essential in better controlling the outbreaks that these infective agents can cause. Transmission of viruses varies, and could be affected by the quantities of virus the route of transmission allows, the size of the transport media, as well...

6 July 2020 – Many of us have not heard the word infodemic before. It refers to the avalanche of information that accompanies an epidemic to the extent that it becomes difficult to distinguish fact from fiction or identify information that is misleading. More than 361 million videos related to COVID-19 have been uploaded to YouTube since the...