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Statement by WHO Regional Director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari on COVID-19
20 June 2020 – Almost 6 months into our response to COVID-19, we continue to learn many things about this new disease. With millions of cases now reported, we have a wide body of research to draw from—which is both a blessing and a challenge. Sifting through case studies, evaluating data, and revising earlier recommendations is part of that...
UN and partners launch guidelines to address the needs of most vulnerable groups during COVID-19
Download Cairo, 15 June 2020 - Vulnerable groups, particularly women, displaced people, migrants, older persons and people with disabilities, may experience the most harmful impacts of COVID-19. This is due to many factors including discrimination and stigma, their exclusion from effective surveillance and early-warning systems as well as their...
Transmission of COVID-19 by asymptomatic cases
11 June 2020 - Global research on COVID-19 continues to be conducted, including how the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is transmitted. Current evidence suggests that most transmission occurs from symptomatic people through close contact with others. Accordingly, most recommendations by WHO on personal protective...
Statement by WHO's Regional Director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Region
10 June 2020 – More than 7 million cases of COVID-19 have now been reported to WHO globally, and more than 400 000 deaths. As of yesterday evening, countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region have reported a total of almost 670 000 cases and more than 15 000 deaths, making up almost 10% of the global caseload. While cases across Europe are...
World Blood Donor Day, 14 June 2020
Every year on 14 June, countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day. The first World Blood Donor Day was observed in 2004, which was followed by its designation as an annual global event by the fifty-eighth World Health Assembly in 2005. World Blood Donor Day is now celebrated each year throughout the world to raise awareness of the...
COVID-19: Keeping Morocco’s mothers and babies safe
Dr Amina Barkat, Head of Neonatal Medicine and Resuscitation at Ibn Sina Children's Hospital of Rabat, Morocco, holds a newborn baby girl1 June 2020 –In an online conference on a Wednesday afternoon in May 2020, the background noise is particularly revealing. Shouts of children and gurgles of babies echo as women and men in Morocco adjust their...
Food crisis likely to worsen in the Middle East and North Africa as COVID-19 continues
From the Regional Directors of UNICEF, FAO, WFP and WHO Amman/Cairo, 27 MAY 2020 – “Governments and partners across the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA) are working around the clock to protect communities from coronavirus disease (COVID-19). While these efforts are saving many lives, they are having a critical impact on food supply...
Statement by WHO's Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari on regional solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic
20 May 2020 – The current COVID-19 pandemic has shown us all the severe and unimaginable impact that a public health threat can have on individuals, communities and nations. We have often said that infectious diseases respect no borders, and that an outbreak in one country can threaten the health security of the Region and beyond. Today, we are...
Engaging young people in the response to COVID-19 in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region
A joint communiqué by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations, the International Association of Dental Students and the International Pharmaceutical Students Federation COVID-19 in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region The novel coronavirus COVID-19 has become a global...
Statement on COVID-19 by WHO's Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari
12 May 2020 - Today marks 134 days since the first case of COVID-19 was reported from China, and 105 days since the first case was reported from our Region. During this time, almost 4 million people around the world have been infected, including almost 300 000 people who have tragically died. Both in our personal and professional lives, all of us...
