National assessors, government counterparts and representatives from civil society organizations from five countries (Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and Sudan) gathered in Cairo from 25 to 27 July to participate in an intercountry feedback meeting on phase I of the Good Governance for Medicines (GGM) programme. The group reconvened after the first meeting, which took place in December 2010, to share the results of their country transparency assessment studies, this in addition to providing a platform for participants to gain motivation and develop skills to work in this area. As the group is from Arabic-speaking countries, it was of special importance to gain feedback from the participants on the Arabic version of the WHO instrument to assess transparency in the pharmaceutical sector. Countries finally developed a GGM plan of action for the next 12 months.

The opening ceremony was attended by HE the Ambassador of Kuwait in Egypt Dr Rasheed Al-Hamad who expressed his country's continued dedication to supporting WHO's efforts towards improving health systems in the Region. Dr Abdallah Assa’edi, WHO Deputy Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, and Dr Ibrahim Abdel Rahim, Acting Director, Division of Health Systems and Service Development of the WHO Regional Office, expressed WHO’s appreciation of the support provided by Kuwait to the work of the Organization. Senior management of the Regional Office continued to re-emphasize the Organization’s aspirations towards continued and expanded cooperation with the Government of Kuwait for the benefit of public health in Member States of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Of the 31 countries in which the programme is being implemented globally, two groups of five countries are from the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The first group represented by Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan and the Syrian Arab Republic are now at different phases of  implementation and a number of concrete improvements have already been made to their health systems. The second group, namely Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and Sudan are a second cohort for the programme in the Region.

The WHO Regional Office continues to provide technical assistance to countries in the implementation of the transparency assessment recommendations. The programme is currently receiving financial support from the Governments of Germany and Kuwait.