WHO collaborating centres are institutions designated by the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) to form part of an international collaborative network carrying out activities in support of the Organization’s programme of work at all levels. They represent a highly valued mechanism of cooperation in which selected institutions are recognized by WHO in order to support it in implementing its mandated work.

The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean organized a meeting of the WHO collaborating centres operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Region on 29–30 April 2015 in Cairo, Egypt. It was attended by directors of WHO collaborating centres working in the Region and by responsible officers from different technical units and departments in the Regional Office. The objectives of the meeting were to review the general rules and policies regulating designation or re-designation of collaborating centres and streamlining their work with WHO’s programme of work; discuss the challenges faced by collaborating centres in implementation of planned activities in collaboration with WHO; and orient the centres with regard to WHO strategic priorities in the Region.