Health

Health Clusters exist to relieve suffering and save lives in humanitarian emergencies while advancing the well-being and dignity of affected populations. Currently 23 countries have an active Health Cluster. These Health Clusters are working to meet the health needs of approximately 60.5 million people worldwide.

The Global Health Cluster exists to support Health Clusters in countries. It can make a difference by:

• providing the right expertise at the right place at the right time;
• building capacity of Health Cluster Coordinators and other Health Cluster staff in countries;
• gathering and disseminating sound and relevant information to guide partners’ response;
• identifying and addressing gaps in technical knowledge and available guidance to ensure the health response follows global best practices and standards; and 
• promoting and advocating for the importance of humanitarian health action on the global stage, to make sure that Health Clusters receive the political and financial support needed.

There are 49 Health Cluster partners at the global level and more than 700 partners in countries. These partners include international organizations and UN agencies, nongovernmental organizations, national authorities, affected communities, specialized agencies, academic and training institutes and donor agencies.

WHO is the Cluster Lead Agency and it provides secretariat support through the Global Health Cluster Team in the WHO Emergency Operations Department.

Learn more about the Health Cluster.