WHO HALTS OPERATIONS AT KEY DUBAI LOGISTICS HUB DUE TO SECURITY FEARS

GENEVA, March 6 (Bernama-dpa) -- The World Health Organisation has lost access to one of its largest logistics centres and supply warehouses for global emergency operations due to the conflict in the Middle East, reported German Press Agency (dpa).

The facility, located in Dubai, has suspended all activities due to the security situation, WHO regional director Hanan Balkhy said on Thursday.

Medical supplies worth about US$18 million are currently stranded at the site, while additional shipments valued at around US$8 million that were due to arrive by sea cannot reach the centre.

The warehouse stores medicines and medical equipment used for emergency operations and for supporting weakened health systems around the world.

These include supplies for treating people wounded in conflicts, victims of earthquakes or floods, and medicines for conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

In some years, the WHO says the Dubai hub helps supply more than 20 million people in around 70 countries.

WHO emergency coordinator Annette Heinzelmann said the agency is examining whether supplies can now be transported by land from the logistics centre.

The Geneva-based WHO is also assessing whether other logistics hubs in Brindisi, Italy, Nairobi, Kenya and elsewhere can take over deliveries.

The situation in the Middle East has been tense since Saturday (Feb 28), when Israel and the United States (US) launched strikes on Iran, followed by Tehran’s retaliatory attacks against US interests in Gulf countries.

--BERNAMA-dpa