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The World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board, currently holding its 130th session, has appointed Dr Ala Alwan as the new WHO Regional Director for WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region, which is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt. Dr Alwan will take up his appointment for a five-year term starting on 1 February 2012. He is taking over from Dr Hussein Abdel-Razzak Al Gezairy. The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region comprises 22 Member States: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, as well as the occupied Palestinian territory. "This is a region with considerable health, socioeconomic and political challenges as well as diverse needs. But it is also a region with solid historical achievements and great promise," said Dr. Alwan in his acceptance speech. "I will focus on achieving the results that we, collectively, know are essential, especially in tackling the health challenges impacting the Region during the current economic and political climate." Dr Alwan is a native of Iraq. From 2008 until the end of 2011, he was Assistant Director-General for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health at WHO Headquarters, where he led WHO's work that resulted in the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2011 of the Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases. Dr Alwan graduated in medicine from the University of Alexandria. He practised medicine in Scotland and obtained his postgraduate training and qualifications in the United Kingdom. Following his return to Iraq, he held several positions in clinical and academic medicine and public health. He was Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Mustansiriya University, Baghdad, Iraq. In 1992, he joined The Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean as Regional Adviser for Noncommunicable Diseases. He then served as WHO Representative in Oman, and Director, Division of Health Systems Development in the Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. In 1998, Dr Alwan moved to WHO headquarters as Director for Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention and then Director of the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases Management. In 2001, he became WHO Representative in Jordan. From 2003 to 2005, he was Minister of Education and Minister of Health in the Government of Iraq. From 2005 to January 2008, he was Representative of the Director-General and Assistant Director-General for Health Action in Crises. The WHO Executive Board is comprised of representatives from 34 Member States. The main functions of the Executive Board are to give effect to the decisions and policies of the World Health Assembly, to advise it and generally facilitate its work. On the Occasion of the New Year, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean extends heartfelt greetings, wishing you a happy, healthy and peaceful new year. To watch EMRO e-greeting Card, click here
Announcement The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean is pleased to announce a competition for the best media work that addresses healthy ageing in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The competition is being organized on the occasion of World Health Day 2012. This year, World Health Day has adopted the slogan, “Good health adds life to years”. The main message is that changes in lifestyle and improvements in global health mean people are living longer and healthier lives. Despite this positive trend, special health challenges arise that require health providers and societies to be prepared to meet the needs of older populations, health professionals in old age care to be trained and age-friendly settings established. Attached are the full details of the competition announcement
WHO awards the film Asmaa for its
promotion of human rights in health
Syrian delegates from the
Ministry of Higher Education visit WHO Regional Office and
Egyptian universities
EMHJ is pleased to announce the publication of the January issue, Volume 18 No.1 January, 2012. WHO/EMRO recently held a workshop on establishing national clinical trial registries in the Region and this month’s issues includes an editorial by Professor Mahmoud Fathalla on the need for and feasibility of instituting such registries. Among the papers included in the issue are 3 on vector-borne diseases and their control, one describing a distinct recessive ocular anomaly in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and one on H1N1 surveillance in Abu Dhabi. EMHJ extends good wishes for 2012 to our readers, authors, reviewers, and editorial board and advisory panel members.
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Within the context of the World AIDS Day celebrations, in a ceremony in
Cairo, Dr Hussein A. Gezairy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern
Mediterranean, presented the first WHO Regional Office film award to the
Tunisian film star Hind Sabry. She accepted the award on behalf of the team
who worked on, and starred in, the film “Asmaa”. The award acknowledges the
pioneering work of the film in promoting human rights in health. Its release
was timely, with the theme of the film in line with the theme of this year’s
regional campaign – stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV
in health care settings. It is an Egyptian film dealing with the issue of
stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV told through the
true story of an Egyptian woman living with HIV. Dr Gezairy congratulated
the film’s writer, producer, director, cast and crew for this valuable
movie, and UNAIDS for their valuable technical support provided during the
development of the film.
