38 out of 124 public hospitals have been damaged as a result of the ongoing crisisSince the beginning of the unrest in the Syrian Arab Republic, the World Health Organization has been working with the Ministry of Health, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and partners to address the acute and chronic health needs of Syrian populations affected by the...

Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director, meets with H.E. the President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss some of the challenges facing Pakistan's national polio programmeIn his recent visit to Pakistan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ala Alwan met H.E. the President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss the progress of, and challenges to,...

Breastfeeding ensures child health and survival1 August 2012 – On the occasion of World Breastfeeding Week and 10 years after the launch of the WHO/UNICEF Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, the world is looking back to gauge the success of efforts to support all women to optimally feed and care for their infants and young...

Hepatitis is closer than you thinkCairo, 26 July 2012. The second World Hepatitis Day was observed across the world on Saturday, 28 July, with new information highlighting the seriousness of this disease and its widespread distribution regionally and globally.  Despite its staggering toll on health, hepatitis remains a group of diseases that are...

Polio vaccination is vital for the safety of children The Islamic Research Academy of Al-Azhar has issued a statement urging parents around the world to continue vaccinating their children and avoid listening to rumours and false calls that ban polio vaccination. The statement reads, “As this disease endangers the lives of our children, causes...

Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director General, and Dr Abdellatif Mekki, Minister of Public Health of Tunisia, at the conference – Value for money, sustainability and accountability in the health sectorIn Africa, more and more countries are being branded as middle-income countries and there...

At the launch of the National Stop TB Partnership (from left to right): H.E Dr Majeed Hamad Amin, Minister of Health of Iraq, H.E Mrs Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, First Lady of Iraq, H.E Dr Rekawt Hama Rasheed, Minister of Health of the Kurdistan Regional Government, and Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative“TB causes loss of human life and poses a...

The Road Safety in 10 Countries project is an international initiative that aims to raise road safety awareness in 10 low- and middle-income countries, including EgyptCairo, 20–21 June 2012 – Road traffic injuries are among the 10 leading causes of death and disability globally. In Egypt, road traffic crashes claim the lives of about 8000...

How much should countries spend on health, and how can this expenditure be tracked? As health care systems around the world continuously develop in response to changing demographics, disease patterns rapid technological development and highly complicated funding mechanisms, this is the kind of information required by the experts and policy-makers...

More than 3.2 million children under the age of five are being immunized against polio in South SudanIn many countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, delivering immunization services is not an easy task. Demographic, geographic, social and economic challenges, in addition to limited health system capacities, often affect the delivery of...