Select your language
Statement by Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, at the ACANU press briefing
26 May 2025 Thank you all for being here today. It is always a pleasure to connect with ACANU—you know the issues and care deeply about the UN. Let me begin with the World Health Assembly—particularly the Pandemic Accord—before turning to Gaza and Sudan. WHA78 has delivered real breakthroughs for global health, despite a fraught international...
Statement For Regional Director, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region on Emergencies
22 May 2025 WHA78, Geneva, 19-27 May 2025Agenda item: 17.1Document: A78/13 Chair, Your Excellencies, Director-General, The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region shoulders one-third of the world’s humanitarian burden, and 15 per cent of our population requires humanitarian assistance. The unfolding crises in Gaza and Sudan—alongside protracted...
World Health Assembly adopts historic Pandemic Agreement to make the world more equitable and safer from future pandemics
20 May 2025 Agreement’s adoption follows three years of intensive negotiation launched due to gaps and inequities identified in national and global COVID-19 response. Agreement boosts global collaboration to ensure stronger, more equitable response to future pandemics. Next steps include negotiations on Pathogen Access and Benefits Sharing...
Statement For Regional Director, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region on Occupied Palestinian territory
21 May 2025 WHA78, Geneva, 19-27 May 2025Agenda item: 20Document: A78/16 Chair, Your Excellencies, Director-General As outlined in the Director-General’s report, health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory are at crisis levels. In the West Bank, access to healthcare is significantly hindered by movement restrictions, violence, and...
WHO Foundation Launches First GCC Partnership with Tawuniya to Drive Health Innovation in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – 19 May 2025 – The WHO Foundation has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tawuniya, Saudi Arabia’s largest insurance provider, marking its first-ever corporate partnership in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. This milestone agreement establishes a framework for advancing regional health...
Statement For Regional Director, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region on Poliomyelitis
19 May 2025 WHA78, Geneva, 19-27 May 2025Agenda item: 17.5Document: A78/4 Chair, Your Excellencies, Director-General, When we committed to eradicate polio in 1988, the world was different. Today, conflict, climate change, and economic strain make our mission harder. Yet, our goal is within reach. Since 1988, we have reduced polio cases by 99.9...
Opening remarks by Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean at the 62nd Arab Health Council WHA side event by the League of Arab State
19 May 2025 Excellencies, Distinguished Colleagues, It is an honour to join you today, and I thank His Excellency the Chair―Dr Saleh al-Hasnawi, Minister of Health of the Republic of Iraq―for this important opportunity. The World Health Organization greatly values its longstanding partnership with the League of Arab States. Our cooperation is rooted...
WHO launches AI-powered all-hazards toolkit to accelerate health emergency response
15 May 2025, Cairo, Egypt – The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean has launched a landmark innovation designed to transform how countries prepare for and respond to health emergencies. The All-Hazard Information Management (AIM) Toolkit leverages generative artificial intelligence to drastically reduce...
Statement by Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, at the emergency press briefing
13 May 2025 Thank you for joining today’s WHO/EMRO press briefing. I always appreciate the opportunity to connect with our media colleagues. I will begin with an update on some of the most acute emergencies in our Region. We remain deeply concerned about the catastrophic situation in Gaza, with more than 52,000 deaths and nearly 120,000 injuries...
People in Gaza starving, sick and dying as aid blockade continues
12 May 2025 – Cairo/Geneva/Jerusalem, The risk of famine in Gaza is increasing with the deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid, including food, in the ongoing blockade. The entire 2.1 million population of Gaza is facing prolonged food shortages, with nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition,...
