Select your language
Statement by Dr Hanan Balkhy, Regional Director WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region Palais Briefing on Impact of the recent escalation on the health situation in EMR
6 March 2026 Today, 115 million people across the Eastern Mediterranean Region require humanitarian assistance—roughly half of global humanitarian needs. Across the Region, fourteen WHO-graded health emergencies are ongoing, including seven at the highest level. Eighty million people face food insecurity, and 40 disease outbreaks are currently...
Statement by Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director at the Director-General’s Press Conference
5 March 2026 Dear Director General, dear excellencies ministers of health and dear colleagues, The situation across the Eastern Mediterranean is escalating rapidly, with serious consequences for civilians and health systems. Across the region, more than 1000 people have reportedly been killed and 7000 injured. One of our most serious concerns is attacks on...
WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region and Pan American Health Organization sign agreement to strengthen hospital resilience
Cairo, Egypt, 25 February 2026 — WHO’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) have signed a Memorandum of Arrangement to strengthen collaboration on making hospitals safer and better prepared for health emergencies and disasters. At a time of growing instability and constrained...
WHO EMRO and Lebanese American University partner to advance IPC and AMR education
23 February 2026, Cairo, Egypt — The World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and the Lebanese American University (LAU) have signed a five-year agreement to advance integrated education and training in infection prevention and control (IPC), antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in the...
WHO and Boston University partner to tackle environmental-driven antimicrobial resistance in displaced communities
18 February 2026, Cairo-Egypt - The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and Boston University, through its Center on Forced Displacement, signed this week a five‑year Agreement to advance collaborative work on the intersection of environmental pollution and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among forcibly...
WHO validates elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in Libya
Photo credit: National Committee for the Prevention of blindness, Ministry of health Libya Geneva | Cairo | Tripoli, 18 February – The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced that Libya has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, a landmark victory for public health in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region. This hard-won achievement...
WHO and Islamic Development Bank deepen collaboration to scale health investments across the region
WHO and IsDP meeting to explore enhanced collaboration and opportunities to scale health investments across the Region. Photo credit: WHO Cairo, Egypt, 11 February 2026 – The World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Cairo Regional Hub held this week a high-level coordination...
Humanitarian health needs in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region remain highest globally in 2026
Photo credit: WHO Cairo, 6 February 2026 — The World Health Organization (WHO) requires US$ 633 million to respond to health emergencies across the Eastern Mediterranean Region in 2026, as the Region continues to face the largest concentration of humanitarian needs worldwide. An additional US$ 56 million is required to sustain WHO’s Regional...
Integrating palliative care into oncology services in Egypt
Participants at the 5th OncoEgypt Conference bringing together health professionals and partners to advance collaboration in cancer prevention diagnosis and care Cairo, Egypt, 29 January – The 5th OncoEgypt Conference, which took place on 11–12 December 2025, stands out as more than a scientific gathering. It became a milestone in a growing...
Statement by Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director at the health emergencies presser
27 January 2026 As we enter 2026, the Eastern Mediterranean Region carries the highest humanitarian burden anywhere in the world, with an estimated 115 million people needing assistance this year alone. Nearly half of global humanitarian needs are concentrated in this Region, yet funding is moving in the wrong direction. In 2025, WHO’s emergency...
