Patient safety from the start! 16 September 2025, Cairo, Egypt – World Patient Safety Day, marked each year on 17 September, is an opportunity to raise public awareness, foster collaboration between stakeholders and mobilize to improve patient safety. The theme this year – “Safe care for every newborn and every child”, accompanied by the slogan...

Rabat, 15 September 2025 – The World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), together with the Kingdom of Morocco, today opened a landmark meeting in Rabat to launch the Health Emergency Leaders Network for Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. This network is the first of its kind, bringing...

10 September 2025, Cairo, Egypt – Each year, on 10 September, World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) – organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and co-sponsored by WHO – focuses global attention on suicide prevention, uniting communities, organizations and governments with the shared belief that suicidal behaviour is a...

3 September 2025, Cairo, Egypt – In response to the urgent – and  growing ­– threat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses to global health, development and security, the World Health Organization (WHO) is developing a new Global Action Plan on AMR (AMR GAP 2.0) in line with Resolution WHA77.6 and the 2024 UN Political Declaration on AMR. As part of...

Distribution of gifts to cancer patients on International Childhood Cancer Day 2025. Photo: WHO 1 September 2025 – Globally, 400 000 children are diagnosed with cancer annually, which means 3 children are diagnosed with cancer every 4 minutes. Of these cases, 90% occur in low- and middle-income countries, where only a fifth of diagnosed children...

Government representatives call for standardized public health procedures at the close of a 3-day simulation exercise. 25 August 2025, Cairo, Egypt – Government representatives from Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Tunisia — major countries on migratory routes in North Africa — convened in Cairo from 18–20 August for a 3-day table-top simulation exercise...

FAO, UNICEF, WFP and WHO reiterate call for immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access to curb deaths from hunger and malnutrition 22/08/2025- ROME/GENEVA/NEW YORK – More than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine, marked by widespread starvation, destitution and preventable deaths, according to a new Integrated Food Security Phase...

19 August 2025 World Humanitarian Day (WHD), established after the 2003 Canal Hotel bombing in Iraq, honours the courage of humanitarian workers who risk their lives to save others. This year, in the region where WHD began, the Eastern Mediterranean faces some of its darkest humanitarian crises. Humanitarian needs have never been greater, yet...

18 August 2025 Distinguished colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 24th intercountry meeting of poliovirus laboratory directors in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Your work is critical to the Region’s progress towards polio eradication. The precision, dedication, and collaboration that define this laboratory network...

11 August 2025, Manama, Bahrain – World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Hanan Balkhy has completed her first official visit – from 4 to 6 August 2025 – to the Kingdom of Bahrain. The visit reaffirmed the longstanding strategic partnership between WHO and the Government of Bahrain, highlighted Bahrain’s progress...