Collective action and commitment is the only way to mitigate the pandemic 2 May 2020 - To date, there are seven confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the south of Yemen, including two deaths, as declared by national authorities. No other cases have been officially reported to WHO, although we anticipate the virus is actively circulating throughout the...

28 April 2020 Dear colleagues and friends Ramadan Kareem. Thank you for joining us once more as we continue our collective fight against COVID-19. Over the past few weeks, this fight has become even more challenging with the appearance of the virus in countries such as the Syrian Arab Republic, Libya and Yemen. Decades and years of conflict —...

24APRIL 2020 | Cairo –  Any suspension of immunization services or hesitancy to use them during the COVID-19 pandemic will result in a resurgence of diseases that have largely been controlled thanks to safe and effective vaccines. That is the warning from WHO's Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean as World Immunization Week (24–30 April...

22 April 2020 Dear family, friends and colleagues in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and around the world. This weekend, around a billion and a half Muslims worldwide will welcome the start of the holy month of Ramadan. While the social and religious traditions associated with this month are well established, the global pandemic currently...

16 April - In Across the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the COVID-19 pandemic is putting unprecedented pressure on health workers, health systems, governments, NGOs, the UN system, and most urgently, on communities and families. As much as I am filled with the same fear and distress that so many others feel at the continuance and uncertainty of this...

Brazzaville/ Cairo, 7 April 2020 – The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has risen to more than 10 000 and caused more than 500 deaths. While the virus was slow to reach the continent compared to other parts of the world, infection has grown exponentially in recent weeks and continues to spread. Reaching the continent through...

7 April 2020 – The theme of this year’s World Health Day is “Support nurses and midwives”. It acknowledges the critical role that nurses and midwives play in keeping the world healthy and is a call to world leaders to invest in nurses and midwives as part of their commitment to health for all.  Nurses and midwives are the backbone of any health...

2 April 2020 – In just one week, the number of COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region has almost doubled, from 32 442cases on 26 March to 58 168on 2 April. New cases have been reported in some of the most vulnerable countries with fragile health systems. Even in countries with stronger health systems, we have seen a worrying spike in the...

27 March 2020, Cairo, Egypt – 21 out of 22 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region are now reporting cases of COVID-19, including new reports of 5 confirmed cases in Syria and one confirmed case Libya. The past weeks have seen some of the most developed health systems in the world struggle with their response to COVID-19. The emergence of the...

26 March 2020 — A team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded a COVID-19 technical support mission to Egypt on 25 March 2020. The objectives of the mission were to understand the current situation; review ongoing response activities; provide on-site technical support as needed; and identify strengths and gaps to guide...