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First ever WHO treaty marks 20 years of saving millions of lives worldwide
Geneva, Switzerland – 25 February 2025 – The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) – one of the most widely embraced UN treaties in history – celebrates the 20-year anniversary of its entry into force this week. The WHO FCTC is the first ever public health treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO with 183 Parties to the...
Mass polio vaccination campaign to continue in the Gaza Strip
19 February 2025 – The emergency polio outbreak response in the Gaza Strip is continuing, with a mass vaccination campaign scheduled from 22 to 26 February 2025. The novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) will be administered to over 591,000 children under 10 years of age to protect them from polio. This campaign follows the recent detection of...
Dr Hanan Balkhy’s visit to Kuwait
World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Hanan Balkhy paid an official visit to Kuwait between 9 and 12 February 2025. During the visit, Dr Balkhy met with senior officials and leaders in the health, industrial, investment, humanitarian and civil society sectors. Below are some of the highlights of the...
Address by Dr Hanan Balkhy Regional Director WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region at the inauguration of the poliovirus environmental surveillance diagnostic laboratory, Oman
13 February 2025 Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen, It gives me great pleasure to join you in inaugurating the Poliovirus Environmental Surveillance Diagnostic Laboratory at the National Polio Laboratory in Muscat, Oman. This state-of-the-art polio surveillance facility marks a significant milestone in our collective fight against polio and reaffirms...
World Epilepsy Day 2025 – a call for improved access to care in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
13 February 2025, Cairo, Egypt – To mark World Epilepsy Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) is raising awareness about epilepsy, a common neurological disorder that can affect anyone, at any age. An estimated 4.7 million people with epilepsy live in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. It is among the 3 most frequently encountered neurological...
International Childhood Cancer Day
13 February 2025, Cairo, Egypt – As the world observes International Childhood Cancer Day (15 February), the World Health Organization (WHO) is highlighting the challenges faced by children with cancer in countries affected by conflict and emergencies. In Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory, the Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen and other parts of...
Address by Dr Hanan Balkhy Regional Director WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region to the Second Healthy Cities Conference in Kuwait
10 February 2025 Your Excellency Dr Ahmad Abdulwahab Al-Awadhi, Minister of Health of Kuwait, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a great pleasure to join you here today at Kuwait’s second conference on Healthy Cities, Our health is impacted by where we live, And how we live. And most of us live in cities. More than 60 per cent of the Arab population...
WHO Regional Director’s statement for the Executive Board 156: Report of the regional committees to the Executive Board
February 2025 Esteemed Chair, Your Excellencies, Director-General, It is my honour to brief you on the 71st session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean. As a new Regional Director, I was pleased to receive strong support from the Committee. The Committee endorsed a strategic operational plan which will guide implementation of...
WHO Regional Director’s statement for the Executive Board 156: Poliomyelitis
February 2025 Esteemed Chair, Your Excellencies, Director-General, Ours is the only remaining WHO region with endemic wild poliovirus. We have an immense responsibility, which the region has accepted with confidence and commitment. As 2024 began, we were on the verge of eradicating wild poliovirus in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the last two...
WHO Regional Director’s statement for the Executive Board 156: Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem
February 2025 Esteemed Chair, Your Excellencies, Director-General, The suffering in the Gaza Strip is beyond comprehension. Tens of thousands of people have died, and around 30 000 have life-changing injuries. The health system is ruined. Malnutrition is rising. The risk of famine persists. Families are returning to devastated neighbourhoods. Almost no...
