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10 October 2023

Enhancing national capacity for shipping of infectious substances by air according to IATA regulations in Yemen 31 August 2023.

Transport and shipment of potentially infectious substances represents a significant challenge to many countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), due to several reasons such as limited numbers of trained and certified laboratory professionals, few certified instructors, shortage in shipment containers, logistics to obtain the required permits, and other reasons. To...

10 October 2023

WHO supporting EWARN evaluation in Northwest Syria - 24 September 2023

In June 2013, a simplified early warning, alert, and response network (EWARN) disease surveillance system was established in Northern Syria. This system has been managed and coordinated by the non-governmental organization, the Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU) since it was established in another part of the country. The current EWARN system...

10 October 2023

WHO scales up capacity for case management and critical care in Afghanistan June- August

WHO is determined to ensure that countries have the advanced capacity to manage public health emergencies including critically ill patients. Country-specific and easy-to-use treatment protocols and best practices (including capacity-building) for the management of critically ill patients can improve case management and empower health workers to improve health in the...

10 October 2023

WHO strengthen the national capacity for oxygen scale-up in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: 14-17 August 2023

WHO’s regional office for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) prioritizes country support to scale-up oxygen access and availability. To that end, A country support mission and a workshop were coordinated between WHO EMRO, the Jordan country office, and Headquarters between the 14th and 17th of August 2023. The workshop included...

10 October 2023

Sub-regional meeting on enhancing cholera/acute watery diarrhea preparedness and response Beirut, Lebanon on 15th – 16th August 2023

The Sub-regional Meeting on enhancing cholera/acute watery diarrhea preparedness and response held in Beirut, Lebanon on August 15th – 16th, 2023, addressed a pressing concern: Over 1 million suspected cholera cases were reported in 2022 across eight countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). These cases have placed an immense strain...

03 October 2023

Annual meeting for country focal points of pandemic influenza preparedness in the EMR - July 2023

Infectious Hazard Preparedness unit at EMRO organized the first Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP)/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) meeting to discuss influenza and other respiratory preparedness and response regional programme management in Casablance-Morocco between 3-5 July 2023 with the presence of PIP focal points at country offices, an...

05 June 2023

WHO builds surveillance and laboratory capacity on high-threat pathogens and genomic sequencing in Yemen

Cairo, 5 June 2023 – WHO conducted a technical mission to Aden, Yemen, on 24 May–1 June, to assess and enhance country capacity for the detection and surveillance of high-threat pathogens, such as arboviral and acute watery diarrhoeal disease. Members of the mission held a meeting in the WHO Aden sub-office...

08 May 2023

Rolling out EMFLU-2: A success story from Saudi Arabia

Cairo, 8 May 2023 – The timely and regular collection of epidemiological data, both at individual and aggregated levels, can allow countries to assess changes associated with the emergence of different respiratory pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential. This data can be translated into evidence-based information for policy-makers that can...

20 April 2023

WHO provides support in north-west Syria in the aftermath of the earthquake

Cairo, 20 April 2023 – The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean has undertaken a surge mission to support the emergency response in north-west Syria in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes and close to 1300 aftershocks that struck south-east Türkiye and north-west Syria in February 2023. During the 1-month...

16 March 2023

WHO conducts pilot testing of new rapid response team training programme in Nepal, Saudi Arabia and Uganda

Cairo, 16 March 2023 – WHO’s monthly report providing information on health emergencies operational updates highlighted the pilot testing of the new rapid response team training programme in Nepal, Saudi Arabia and Uganda. Rapid response teams are trained and equipped multidisciplinary teams, able to deploy rapidly at national and subnational level...

17 January 2023

Training workshop aims to enhance timely reporting of sentinel influenza data in Jordan

Jordan, 17 January 2023 – Experts from the Infectious Hazard Prevention and Preparedness (IHP) programme at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean conducted a mission to Jordan in December 2022 to participate in national training for sentinel site teams and staff of the National Influenza Centre. Participants from...

11 December 2022

WHO meeting held on global progress towards implementation of the respiratory syncytial virus surveillance pilot project

Cairo, 11 December 2022 – The WHO Global Influenza Programme organized a technical meeting in Jordan, together with the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, to review progress in phase 2 of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) surveillance strategy. The meeting conducted from 29 November to 1 December brought together...

06 December 2022

WHO supports Lebanon in fighting the cholera outbreak

Cairo, 6 December 2022 – The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean recently conducted a technical mission to support the WHO country office in Lebanon and the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health in responding to the ongoing cholera outbreak. The mission aimed to support the country in strengthening cholera epidemiological...

05 December 2022

WHO mission aims to facilitate integrated surveillance of influenza and other respiratory viruses in Morocco

Cairo, 5 December 2022 – The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean conducted a technical mission to Morocco to support the country to operationalize the integrated surveillance framework for influenza and other respiratory viruses of epidemic and pandemic potential. The mission was conducted jointly with laboratory and epidemiology staff from...

04 December 2022

Training on influenza and SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequencing in Muscat, Oman

Cairo, 4 December 2022 – The World Health Organization (WHO)’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently conducted back-to-back training in Muscat, Oman. The training was organized in partnership with Oman’s national influenza centre to build capacity across the Region...

03 November 2022

WHO reviews influenza sentinel surveillance system in Iraq

Iraq, 3 November 2022 – The Infectious Hazard Prevention (IHP) programme at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean recently conducted a mission to Iraq to review the different processes of the influenza sentinel surveillance system, including looking at the effectiveness of its integrated surveillance and ensuring optimal use...

01 November 2022

WHO support to strengthen influenza surveillance in Yemen

Cairo, 1 November 2022 – The Infectious Hazard Prevention and Preparedness programme at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean recently deployed an expert to Yemen to support strengthening surveillance for influenza and respiratory pathogens. As the influenza season has already started, influenza surveillance systems in countries will be alerted of...

19 September 2022

Reactivation of the influenza sentinel surveillance system in Sudan through PIP Framework mechanism support

Sudan, 19 September 2022 – The Infectious Hazard Prevention programme at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean deployed an expert to Sudan to support influenza surveillance. The deployment aimed to support the Federal Ministry of Health to re-activate the dormant sentinel surveillance system and promote the integration of...

18 September 2022

Building rapid response capacities for a timely and effective national response to disease outbreaks in Egypt

Cairo, 18 September 2022 – The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and the WHO country office in Egypt organized a rapid response team all-hazard training and programme orientation workshop, to build national rapid response teams (RRTs) for the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population.  The workshop, held in Ain...

01 September 2022

Report on implementation of the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework highlights achievements in the Region

Cairo, 1 September 2022 – The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean has recently published a report on implementation of the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework in the Region, 2020–2021, which highlights achievements in the 9 recipient countries of the PIP Framework Partnership Contribution. Funds allocated under the PIP...

16 August 2022

A joint mission assesses the sentinel surveillance system in Jordan

Jordan, 16 August 2022 – The Infectious Hazard Prevention (IHP) programme at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, in collaboration with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Influenza Division in Atlanta conducted a joint assessment mission in Jordan. As COVID-19 pandemic cases decrease in...

08 August 2022

Strengthening seasonal influenza vaccination programmes and policies in the Region

Amman, 8 August 2022 – Stakeholders from 5 priority countries in the Region identified approaches that could be adopted in their national seasonal influenza vaccination programme during a meeting conducted in Amman, Jordan, from 24 to 26 July 2022. Immunization and influenza focal points from ministries of health and WHO...

04 August 2022

Islamic Republic of Iran revisits national pandemic preparedness planning for influenza and respiratory pathogens

4 August 2022 – The Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) in Islamic Republic of Iran has adopted a comprehensive approach towards drafting and updating its influenza pandemic preparedness plan. The approach is multi-sectorial and multidisciplinary, backed by a well-coordinated and structured mechanism focusing on multi-level capacity strengthening. The draft...

03 August 2022

Enhancing implementation of the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Amman, 3 August 2022 – Focal points for Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework implementation in 10 priority countries of the Region met in person for the first time since COVID-19 restrictions have eased. WHO organized the annual regional meeting in Amman, Jordan, from 24 to 26 May to ensure stronger and more...

10 May 2022

Jordan combating zoonotic diseases through joint risk assessment tool

Amman, 12 April 2022 – Through the support of the Partnership Contribution mechanism under the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework, a 4-day workshop to promote a joint risk assessment tool to combat zoonotic diseases took place in Jordan from 7 to 10 March 2022. The workshop organized by the WHO country...

03 April 2022

WHO extends support to Saudi Arabia in testing upgraded electronic influenza surveillance platform

Cairo, 3 April 2022 – WHO’s upgraded influenza platform, EMFLU-2, is being pilot-tested in Saudi Arabia, offering additional functionality for data collection and analysis, including capturing and sharing multi-pathogen laboratory data. Detecting and responding early to influenza outbreaks is essential to mitigate impact, and one way to achieve this is...

22 March 2022

WHO builds capacity of rapid response team in Iraq with a focus on Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever

Baghdad, Iraq, 22 March 2022 – The World Health Organization (WHO), in cooperation with the Ministry of Health in Iraq, concluded today a three-day workshop aimed at building the capacity of the country’s rapid response team (RRT) in field investigation and response, with an emphasis on the recent outbreak...

16 March 2022

WHO recommends Saudi Arabia’s public health laboratory for recognition as national influenza centre

Cairo, 16 March 2022 – A WHO mission to Saudi Arabia has found that the country’s public health laboratory operating within the Public Health Authority has fulfilled the requirements for WHO to recommend recognition of the laboratory as a national influenza centre for Saudi Arabia. The public health laboratory plays...

23 February 2022

Reviving influenza preparedness and response in Iraq with the support of the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework

Cairo, 23 February 2022 – In recent months, with support provided by WHO under the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework Partnership Contribution mechanism, national sentinel influenza surveillance, preparedness and response system in Iraq has been strengthened during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Iraq has faced critical political, economic and health challenges in...

22 February 2022

Oman launches WHO collaborating centre for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases

Cairo, 22 February 2022 – Oman’s central public health laboratories have been designated a WHO collaborating centre for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. The official launch took place on 16 February 2022 and was presided over by Dr Ahmed Al-Saeedi, Oman’s Minister of Health, who ascribed the importance of this...

14 December 2021

Jordan updates its risk communication and community engagement plan for pandemic influenza preparedness

Cairo, 14 December 2021 – Jordan is currently reviewing and updating its risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) plan for pandemic influenza preparedness based on best practices and lessons learned during the COVID-19 response. A workshop to review the plan was held between 7 and 9 December 2021 by the Ministry...

04 November 2021

Enhancing pandemic influenza severity assessment capacities in Jordan

Cairo, 4 November 2021 – Detecting and responding early to influenza and other emerging respiratory disease outbreaks can be achieved in Jordan through improved sentinel surveillance systems with proper data collection and analysis and the better use of data for public health actions. This was the main outcome of a workshop...

02 November 2021

Building skills of frontline workers through the Early Warning Alert and Response Network

Cairo, 2 November 2021 – The capacities of frontline field workers need to be supported and developed to respond to outbreaks of epidemic- and pandemic-prone diseases effectively and efficiently, and their career paths need to be better defined and sustained by ministries of health and partners to retain their expertise. This...

31 October 2021

Learning from Saudi Arabia’s COVID-19 response amid its health sector transformation

Cairo, 31 October 2021 – Strong governance and intersectoral coordination have led to evidence-based decision-making in Saudi Arabia, and there are significant and ongoing achievements taking place in laboratory diagnostics, health information management and response interventions against COVID-19. These were some of the key findings identified by a technical mission...

21 October 2021

Strengthening Somalia’s health system and services through the COVID-19 response

Cairo, 21 October 2021 – Six experts from the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean travelled to Somalia between 26 and 30 September 2021 to review the country’s national and subnational COVID-19 response. Backed up by six additional Regional Office experts connecting virtually, the mission reviewed nine priority pillars...

17 October 2021

Strengthening Syria’s rapid response team and early warning system

The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean conducted a technical mission to the Syrian Arab Republic with the aim of supporting the country’s preparedness and response capacity to high-threat pathogens. The mission, which took place from 31 July to 9 August, focused on strengthening early detection and rapid response,...

28 September 2021

WHO and System Staff College open pandemic leadership programme materials to public

The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, together with the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) have made publicly available new course materials on OpenWHO.org, as part of the Leadership Programme on Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Response. The online course features recordings of prominent public health experts delivering monthly...

28 September 2021

Pandemic preparedness and response in the Region in light of recent report and proposed International Framework Convention

Cairo, 28 September 2021 – WHO convened a meeting attended by diverse regional and global public health leaders to discuss pandemic preparedness and response from the perspective of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, particularly those affected by conflict. The meeting took place on 6 September 2021 and was organized...

22 September 2021

MERS and COVID-19 response: leveraging the “One Health” approach to combat public health threats

Cairo, 22 September 2021 – Integrating work on Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) with the COVID-19 response took centre stage at a virtual meeting organized by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean on 16 August 2021. Participants discussed how to view the pandemic as an opportunity to learn...

02 August 2021

Directors of national influenza centres in the Eastern Mediterranean Region meet to discuss challenges, opportunities, and the way forward for influenza laboratories

Cairo, 2 August 2021 – WHO convened a meeting for the directors of national influenza centres (NICs) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region to share new laboratory techniques and methodologies for influenza virus detection and characterization and discuss challenges they face in these areas of work. The meeting took place on...

02 August 2021

Identifying challenges and solutions for pandemic influenza preparedness in the Region

Cairo, 2 August 2021 – Working on pandemic influenza preparedness (PIP) during the COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be challenging for priority countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, but WHO has been supporting these countries to address challenges in ensuring effective implementation of the PIP framework. This was the outcome of...

01 August 2021

WHO helps assess and strengthen laboratory diagnostic capacity for high-threat pathogens in Libya

Cairo, 1 August 2021 – The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean conducted a field visit to Libya during the last week of June to assess the laboratory and surveillance network against COVID-19, as well as influenza-like illnesses (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI). The mission visited the...

24 June 2021

Leadership programme on epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response launched

24 June 2021 – The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, in collaboration with the United Nations System Staff College, has launched a leadership programme on epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response, announced today by the WHO Regional Director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari and the Director of the United Nations...

20 June 2021

WHO builds critical care capacities for COVID-19 in Iraq

20 June 2021 – The clinical management pillar of WHO’s regional incident management support team has recently completed training of trainers for intensive care doctors and nurses in Iraq as part of its ongoing response to surge demand for intensive care beds and critical care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like in other...

04 May 2021

WHO supporting evaluation of Libya’s EWARN system

4 May 2021 – WHO has recently completed a country mission to support Libya’s evaluation of the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN), the only functioning disease surveillance system in the country. The evaluation, which took place between 25 March and 8 April, was the first of its kind and...

06 April 2021

WHO trains critical care/ICU nurses in the Gaza Strip in response to COVID-19

6 April 2021 – WHO continues to support occupied Palestinian territory during the COVID-19 pandemic with the treatment of patients suffering from severe COVID-19 taking centre stage during a training workshop delivered to nurses working in, or who will be assigned to, COVID-19 intensive care units (ICUs). Basic ICU training was...

08 March 2021

Building Somalia’s capacities in critical and intensive care

8 March 2021 - WHO delivered an introductory intensive care unit (ICU) training workshop to 14 participants selected from different regions of Somalia as an introduction to the fundamentals of critical care management to help build technical and clinical competencies in the management of critically ill patients and develop skills...

08 February 2021

Libya’s EWARN receives electronic boost from WHO

Libyan surveillance officers started the new year by activating a new WHO electronic platform that will help them report surveillance data as part of the country’s early warning and alert response network (EWARN) for COVID-19 and other events of public health concern. EWARN is the only functioning surveillance system in Libya....

03 February 2021

WHO supports Syria to fight COVID-19 and reactivate influenza sentinel surveillance

8 February 2021 - In 2020, the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean conducted a 3-month mission to Syria to provide technical support to the WHO country office and the Ministry of Health for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to follow up on the implementation of recommendations...

01 December 2020

WHO supports countries transition from EWARN to routine surveillance

WHO is supporting ministries of health in countries experiencing acute or protracted humanitarian crises to transition from the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) disease surveillance system, designed for emergencies, back to their routine surveillance systems without losing years of investment. EWARN is an adjunct to national disease surveillance systems...

02 November 2020

Strengthening Yemen’s disease early warning system during the COVID-19 pandemic

At the request of the Ministry of Public Health and Population, WHO conducted a technical mission to Yemen from August to September 2020 to provide support to strengthen the country’s surveillance capacities through the electronic Integrated Disease Early Warning System (eIDEWS) and upgrade its real-time electronic application platform. The mission...

06 October 2020

WHO missions supporting Yemen to fight COVID-19

WHO recently organized technical missions to Yemen that aimed to support the country’s response measures to COVID-19 by improving care for critically ill COVID-19 patients and strengthening surveillance and laboratory testing to find new cases. The missions, which took place from June to August 2020 in south Yemen, worked with the...

26 August 2020

You are invited to a live webinar on Pandemic Preparedness in Eastern Mediterranean Region with a focus on the International Framework Convention on Pandemic Preparedness and Response 6 September 2021 11:00 am Cairo time Register » More information

28 April 2020

GOARN: A growing success story of outbreak response and collaboration in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

28 April 2020 – The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) marks its 20th anniversary this year on 28 April 2020. Working closely with WHO and United Nations partners, GOARN stands for saving lives and preventing unnecessary morbidity and mortality owing to the spread of infectious diseases. It has grown...

19 December 2019

Regional directors of national influenza laboratories to enhance collaboration

19 December 2019 - Directors of national influenza laboratories (NICs) in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region met for two days to discuss issues and solutions for challenges in laboratory surveillance for seasonal, avian and other pandemic influenza viruses. The meeting, held in Casablanca, Morocco, on 16–17 November 2019, also included...

08 December 2019

WHO supports improvement of regional influenza sequencing and molecular phylogenetic capacity

Laboratory technicians from 11 regional countries trained on influenza sequencing and molecular phylogenetic analysis. (Photo: WHO/A. Barakat) 8 December 2019 – Ensuring the availability of adequate regional and national capacities to perform genetic sequence analysis of influenza viruses is one of the priorities for WHO in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. For this reason,...

05 December 2019

Strengthening Iraq’s influenza surveillance system

5 December 2019 – To improve the influenza surveillance system and overall national pandemic influenza preparedness in Iraq, WHO conducted a mission on 16–19 September 2019 to assess the country’s influenza surveillance system and laboratory capacity and review potential sentinel surveillance sites. Iraq has had a functioning influenza surveillance system as...

03 December 2019

Updating the EWARN evaluation protocol for the Region

Participants from seven regional countries participated in the workshop to evaluate EWARN protocol. (Photo: WHO) A process has begun to strengthen the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) by reviewing and updating its evaluation protocol. As part of the process, WHO held a workshop in Amman, Jordan, on 21–24 October...

02 December 2019

WHO supports Sudan to enhance cholera diagnosis at its laboratories

In its efforts to support the Government of Sudan to address the cholera outbreak declared by the Federal Ministry of Health on 8 September 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a technical mission to review the readiness of central and state-level laboratories for the detection and confirmation of cholera. The...

26 November 2019

Evaluating Yemen’s disease surveillance and early warning system

The World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in Yemen organized a workshop to prepare and develop an action plan for the evaluation of the country’s surveillance system which is based on the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN). The workshop, which took place...

24 November 2019

Early Warning Alert and Response Network launched in Djibouti to detect epidemic-prone diseases

The Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) has been launched in Djibouti to strengthen the country’s surveillance system for priority and epidemic-prone diseases. The system will allow health authorities to receive high quality epidemiological data that is accurate, complete and available on a real-time basis. The launch took place as...

19 August 2019

WHO and partners mobilize antiretroviral drugs for HIV-positive children in Pakistan

27 August 2019 – The HIV outbreak in Pakistan, which infected 903 people in Larkana district of Sindh province, as of 4 July 2019, is most likely due to unsafe injection practices and poor infection control practices in health facilities. The Federal Ministry of Health of Pakistan requested support for...

15 August 2019

Jordan: First country in the Region to start implementing WHO's Emergency Risk Communication Package

From 15 to 18 July, the Ministry of Health in Jordan, with the support of WHO, conducted a 4-day training workshop on Emergency Risk Communication. Doing so, Jordan has become the first country in the Region to implement three components of the Emergency Risk Communications (ERC) 5-step Capacity Building Package,...

23 July 2019

WHO builds Rapid Response Team capacity in Eastern Mediterranean Region with Japan’s support

This week over 50 experts in surveillance, field epidemiology, infection control, laboratory and more are convening in Cairo for a Rapid Response Team (RRT) training. Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) are a crucial part of the response to MERS and other respiratory disease outbreaks in WH’s Eastern Mediterranean, and as such...

04 July 2019

Measles in Tunisia: filling gaps in an already strong national immunity

As part of a regional effort to reduce measles infections and deaths, the WHO Regional Office is supporting Tunisia’s Ministry of Health to investigate the measles outbreaks and implement a massive immunization campaign to reach all unvaccinated people, including those in hard-to-reach communities. Since the start of the measles outbreak in...

19 June 2019

EMARIS 2019: Top 5 reasons to submit your abstract

UPDATE: Abstract submission deadline is extended to 15 July (23:59 GMT)  As the deadline for abstract submission for EMARIS 2019, the Second Scientific Conference of the EMARIS network, approaches (deadline for submission:  Monday 15 July, 23:59 GMT), many researchers have already submitted their best abstracts. For those still preparing, or considering...

12 June 2019

WHO experts sustain decrease in new cholera cases and deaths in Yemen

12 June 2019 - To support the ongoing scale-up of cholera response efforts in Yemen, from 18 to 25 May 2 World Health Organization (WHO) experts deployed to Sana’a. As part of the scale-up, WHO has increased technical support to the country, which has been facing the worst cholera outbreak...

24 April 2019

Open today: abstract submission process for Second Scientific Conference - EMARIS 2019

UPDATE: Abstract submission deadline is extended to 15 July (23:59 GMT)  OPEN TODAY:  The abstract submission process for the Second Scientific Conference,  EMARIS 2019, has opened! Deadline for abstract submission:  15 July, 2019.Are you a researcher working on Influenza and other Respiratory Diseases related to the countries in WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region? Then...

14 April 2019

Working beyond capacity to get the data out: disease surveillance in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

This week, influenza surveillance experts and representatives of Ministries of Health across WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region are meeting to discuss monitoring and evaluation of sentinel-based influenza surveillance systems. Ahead of the event we spoke with Dr Rana Jawad Asghar, epidemiologist and surveillance system expert. Early detection of influenza outbreaks is crucial...

10 April 2019

Opening soon: abstract submission process for Second Scientific Conference - EMARIS 2019

The technical unit of Infectious Hazard Management in WHO’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean is pleased to announce the Second Scientific Conference of the EMARIS Network, taking place in Marrakesh, Morocco from November 12 to 15, 2019.  Be part of documenting the regional progress in strengthening surveillance and response capacities...

12 March 2019

Somalia: ending the specter of cholera

When Dr Mutaawe Lubogo speaks about his work, enthusiasm colors his voice and a sparkle lights his eyes. Dr Lubogo, a cholera expert working with WHO in Somalia, is passionate about the fight against infectious diseases in the country. “Mention an epidemic, and find it in Somalia”, he says. “People...

07 February 2019

The next flu pandemic: a matter of ‘when’, not ‘if’

An interview with Mr Christopher Chadwick, Technical Officer for Influenza Preparedness and Response at the World Health Organization. When you hear the word ‘pandemic’, what do you see? Likely some combination of millions of sick people and deaths, airports and borders closing, the international medical community in overdrive. Worldwide devastation. What...

20 January 2019

Infectious disease outbreaks reported in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in 2018

20 January 2019 – Throughout 2018, WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region witnessed a number of new infectious diseases outbreaks and cases of other diseases were reported sporadically throughout the year in endemic patterns. The sporadic reporting of these infectious diseases continued as the transmission, which began in the previous years, was...

27 December 2018

“Saying ‘we can end cholera’ is not silly at all”

An interview with Dr Dominique Legros, Cholera Team Lead at the World Health Organization. There is a new battle plan in the fight against cholera. The document, aptly called “”, exudes optimism and aims for a world in which the ancient disease is no longer a threat to public health. Dr...

19 December 2018

‘A health threat anywhere is a health threat everywhere’: new strategic framework for infectious hazard management discussed and adopted

19 December 2018 - From 16 to 19 December, nearly 100 infectious disease experts from Ministries of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), and research institutes in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) and worldwide, convened in Amman, Jordan, to discuss, review and adopt the new strategic framework for prevention and...

26 November 2018

Using surveillance data to analyse influenza severity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

26 November 2018 – From 1 to 4 October, in a premiere event for the Region, over 25 influenza experts converged in Tunis for a training workshop on influenza baseline setting and threshold value determination for so-called Pandemic Influenza Severity Assessments (PISAs). By organizing and facilitating the course, WHO’s Regional...

25 November 2018

Filling knowledge gaps to strengthen Yemen’s cholera response

25 November, 2018 – To improve the response to the ongoing cholera outbreak in Yemen, which has caused over 1.3 million suspected cases since 2016, experts from WHO, UNICEF, MSF and other partners met in Amman from 9 to 11 October. The meeting focused on identifying existing knowledge and information...

22 November 2018

Ramping up Ebola preparedness to ensure early detection and response

22 November 2018 – The Infectious Hazard Management unit of WHO’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean has launched a series of activities to scale up Ebola preparedness and readiness. Although no cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have yet been reported from the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the risk...

06 November 2018

Training workshop held on establishing pool of experts on Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)

25 October 2018 – From 23 to 25 October 2018, the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office convened a training workshop in Abu Dhabi on improving public health preparedness and readiness measures for response to the threat of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). About 25 representatives from the ministries of health...

24 October 2018

Pool of MERS experts for deployment established by WHO’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean

23 October 2018 - From 23 to 25 October, 60 high-level public health and MERS practitioners, researchers, and experts will meet in Abu Dhabi to establish a pool of experts that can be deployed rapidly during any future outbreaks, as well as share and discuss the latest evidence, best practices,...

10 October 2018

Recent imported case of MERS with travel history to Kuwait   proves it is still a global threat

10 October 2018 - In a globalized world, infectious disease outbreaks can travel between countries within hours, potentially becoming a concern for the entire world. When a 61-year old Korean man was diagnosed with the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in the Republic of Korea (RoK) on September 9,...

27 September 2018

New EWARN Handbook to enhance quality of epidemiological surveillance in humanitarian emergencies

27 September 2018 - From 17 to 20 September, 30 health professionals from 7 countries met in Beirut, Lebanon, to discuss and improve data collection, analysis and reporting for Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) in humanitarian emergencies.  EWARN, an early warning surveillance system for humanitarian emergencies, has played...

29 August 2018

Mission accomplished: an incident- and outbreak-free Hajj

26 August 2018 - Last week, a total of 2.7 million muslim pilgrims passed through Saudi Arabia on the annual Hajj, one of the largest mass gatherings in the world and a key pillar of Islam. Thanks to the hard work by the Saudi Ministry of Health and the support...

17 August 2018

Preparing for pandemic flu: five countries ready to update preparedness plans

15 August 2018 - From 13 to 15 August, public health experts from five countries gathered in Tunis, to develop a planning tool for creating and updating national plans for pandemic influenza preparedness. It was the first time two WHO Regional Offices (the Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, or...

14 August 2018

‘The next pandemic could be around the corner’: planning for Pandemic Influenza in Tunisia

13 August 2018 - Today, in the centennial anniversary year of the Spanish flu pandemic which killed over fifty million people in 1918, public health experts from five countries are gathering in Tunis for a three-day workshop, to develop a planning tool for creating or updating national plans for pandemic...

29 July 2018

‘So not one outbreak goes unnoticed’: WHO supports influenza surveillance in Libya and Djibouti

22 July 2018 - During the last two weeks of June, two teams of influenza experts from WHO were deployed to Libya and Djibouti at the invitation of the countries’ Ministries of Health. The purpose was to assess and improve the influenza surveillance system, laboratories, and capacity of rapid response...

15 July 2018

Responding to a MERS outbreak: WHO trains Rapid Response Team members in Saudi Arabia

  12 July 2018 – During the first week of July, 24 public health experts gathered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to receive training on how to respond to an outbreak of deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) as part of a Rapid Response Team (RRT). Since late 2012, the MERS coronavirus...

29 April 2018

Regional training course organized to improve current laboratory biosafety and biosecurity practices

29 April 2018 – During the joint external evaluation (JEE) for IHR core capacity assessments in the Region, one of the critical gaps identified was absence of a laboratory biosafety and biosecurity programme with limited availability of skilled laboratory workforce for managing such programmes.   Between 16 and 20 April, 2018, the WHO...

29 March 2018

Health workers trained on electronic disease early warning surveillance systems

29 March 2018 – WHO concluded a 4-day training workshop today for Somalia’s disease surveillance officers on the use of the newly updated electronic platform for disease early warning systems (EWARN), in order to improve the national capacity to detect health threats in real-time, and respond quickly to public health...

14 February 2018

List of Blueprint priority diseases

2018 annual review of the Blueprint list of priority diseases List of Blueprint priority diseases For the purposes of the R&D Blueprint, WHO has developed a special tool for determining which diseases and pathogens to prioritize for research and development in public health emergency contexts. This tool seeks to identify those diseases...

12 February 2018

Emerging infectious disease outbreaks reported in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in 2017

12 February 2018 - Throughout 2017, the Eastern Mediterranean Region of WHO faced a number of emerging infectious diseases, some of these turning into explosive outbreaks. The emerging infectious diseases that have been reported in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in 2017 include: 1) acute watery diarrhoea; 2) avian influenza; 3)...

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