The Government of the Sultanate of Oman hosted the Sixtieth Session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean (RC60) which took place from Sunday 27 October to Wednesday 30 October 2013. Several resolutions were passed during the meeting. Recognizing the importance of universal health coverage, the meeting called on all countries of the Region to ensure that all people have access to essential health services that are of sufficient quality, without incurring the risk of financial hardship.
The meeting also endorsed the regional strategy for the improvement of civil registration and vital statistics systems 2014–2019 and the regional strategy on health and the environment 2014–2019.
The Global Road Safety Report 2013 is a baseline for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020 provides a country profile for more than 180 countries around the world. It reported that the Eastern Mediterranean Region has the second highest road traffic fatality rate in the world, 24.1 per 100 000 population compared to the global rate of 18.03 per 100 000 population.
The 2013 WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic reported that the number of people covered by national anti-tobacco campaigns reached 3 billion people globally and bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship covered almost 400 million people.
Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable deaths globally; the report summarizes the extensive efforts undertaken by Member States to implement the most effective measures in reducing tobacco use, such as protecting people from second-hand smoke, warning people about the dangers of tobacco and raising taxes on tobacco.
RC60 also urged countries to set ambitious annual HIV testing and treatment targets and take urgent action to accelerate treatment access, establish a robust antimicrobial resistance surveillance system, and to ensure regulations for rational use of antimicrobials are in place at all levels.
Accelerating HIV treatment in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region and UNAIDS Middle East and North Africa regions provides a framework for scaling up treatment built on four pillars: creating demand for testing and treatment, investing in health systems for the management and care of HIV, delivering results in an equitable manner and committing to urgent action.
During the meeting important documents were launched, including the World Health Report 2013: Research for universal health coverage, which highlights the importance of research in advancing progress towards universal health coverage. Universal health coverage ensures everyone has access to affordable and quality health care services they need without suffering financial hardship as a result. As countries move towards it, research can help provide answers to address some of the emerging common challenges.