WHO to open office in Istanbul

ANKARA

The World Health Organization (WHO) will open an office in Istanbul, according to a presidential decree regarding the approval of a host agreement published in the Official Gazette on June 28.

The agency’s Istanbul office will operate as an operational unit of the WHO European Regional Office’s “Health Emergencies and Infectious Diseases Division.”

The establishment of the Istanbul office aims to strengthen the WHO’s capacity to assist member states in the areas of prevention, preparedness, risk management and capacity building for humanitarian and health emergencies at the regional and global levels.

Also, additional expert and intervention capacity will be created to support the member states affected by humanitarian and health emergencies, which will be activated during the response to disasters.

There will also be a training center, which will include an operational support unit to be used to coordinate simulation exercises and mobilize expert capacity.

The office will support countries for evaluation of health system capacities for crisis management and the development of comprehensive health emergency risk management policies and programs, capacity building for emergency preparedness and security of health facilities and hospitals, and disaster resilience of health systems.

The office will also provide technical support to strengthen the preparedness and emergency planning of health systems for humanitarian and health-related challenges in mass population movements and refugee areas, including large-scale migration.

The agreement said that the office will take into account the full and complete manner to the recommendations of the Turkish government.