Most of the Region’s population does not have access to comprehensive, equitable, affordable, acceptable and safe health services. Moreover, the Region suffers from a heavy burden of unsafe and low-quality care.

We aim to support countries achieve universal health coverage through developing more integrated people-centred health services; identifying country-relevant models of care; producing more family practitioners; promoting safety and resilient health care settings; institutionalizing continuous quality improvement programmes; and engaging all concerned stakeholders.

Achievements have included: the registration of 100 000 physicians in the online training course on primary health care practice in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; launching of the Regional Professional Diploma in Family Medicine, in collaboration with the Arab Board of Health Specializations; development of the “Highest Priority Universal Health Coverage Package” and “Essential Fiscal and Intersectoral Package”; development of a comprehensive leadership and managerial capacity-building programme for hospital managers; and the roll-out of patient safety friendly frameworks for hospitals and primary health care facilities.