WHO is currently responding to 43 graded emergencies worldwide, as of April 15, 2024. These emergencies require the organization’s moderate or major response and can transition to protracted emergencies if they persist for more than six months. WHO continually updates these figures based on inputs from its three levels.
In 2024, the Contingency Fund for Emergencies released US$ 21.5 million to fourteen health emergencies, with the largest allocations going towards the Dengue Global Outbreak, hostilities in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, and the Northern Ethiopia Humanitarian Response. The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) supported 25 deployments in 2024, with the highest number of deployments in response to various emergencies.
WHO’s Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPW 14) is a key figure in WHO’s work in emergencies, focusing on response to health emergencies, preparedness and readiness, operations support and logistics, as well as learning and capacity development for health emergencies. OpenWHO.org has seen 8.6 million enrollments across 270 online public health courses in 2024, including learning in 72 national and local languages. Standby Partners have supported WHO’s response to 13 graded emergencies in 2024 through the deployment of surge personnel. WHO is an active member of the Standby Partner Network and the International Humanitarian Partnership.