WHO warns of emotional burnout in the wake of Philippine flood
MANILA, 13 November 2009— The World Health Organization (WHO) today expressed concern for the psychological well-being of more than a million people still living in flood waters weeks after three typhoons swept through the Philippines.
Three direct hits from storms in a little more than a month left whole communities under water and swept away others in landslides. More than a million residents still live in flood waters, with little prospect of the water draining away before the end of the year. Nearly 102 000 other people remain in evacuation centres, often in dire conditions.
Tens of thousands of people are at risk from leptospirosis, a bacterial disease caused by contact with water contaminated with urine from rats and other mammals. Other health threats include cholera, dengue fever, malaria, diarrhoea, skin rashes and respiratory illnesses.
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WHO calls for urgent action to improve women's health
GENEVA, 10 November 2009—Societies continue to fail to meet the health needs of women at key moments of their lives, particularly in their adolescent years and in older age, a World Health Organization (WHO) report has found.
Launching the report, entitled Women and health: today's evidence tomorrow's agenda, WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan called for urgent action both within the health sector and beyond to improve the health and lives of girls and women around the world, from birth to older age.
"If women are denied a chance to develop their full human potential, including their potential to lead healthier and at least somewhat happier lives, is society as a whole really healthy? What does this say about the state of social progress in the 21st century?" asked Dr Chan.
Fact Sheet on Women's Health
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