13 October 2025 – Health systems across the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region are under immense strain. As of April 2025, 16 graded emergencies were affecting millions of people in the region, around 115 million people of whom are in urgent need of health services and humanitarian support. From armed conflicts and natural disasters to disease...

13 October 2025 – Countries of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) continue to face persistent challenges in accessing reliable, timely and actionable health data. In many settings, surveillance remains fragmented, uncoordinated, paper-based, disease-specific, and donor-driven—conditions that delay detection and weaken rapid response. Drawing...

13 October 2025, Cairo, Egypt – As of June 2025, WHO was managing 16 graded emergencies across the Eastern Mediterranean Region.  Multiple overlapping crisis had left over 115 million people in need of assistance– nearly a third of the global humanitarian burden. In 2024, the Region experienced 80 disease outbreaks, more than double the number in...

13 October 2025 – Some countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region continue to face major challenges in ensuring the availability, safety, quality, accessibility, affordability and clinical efficacy of blood and blood products. The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean has been actively engaged in improving national blood systems,...

13 October 2025 – Palliative care helps people manage pain, cope with emotional stress and make the most of life when facing serious health challenges. It also supports families, offering guidance, reassurance and a sense of agency during difficult times. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, where millions of people live with serious illnesses, the...

13 October 2025 – Guided by the WHO Regional framework for action on climate change, health and environment 2023–2029, countries across the Eastern Mediterranean Region have been intensifying efforts to protect public health from climate change.  Endorsed in October 2023, the framework provides a roadmap for building climate-resilient and...

13 October 2025 – Across the Eastern Mediterranean Region, millions of children are growing up with no protection against deadly but preventable diseases. These zero-dose children – more than 14.3 million between 2019 and 2024 – have yet to receive a single routine vaccine. Safe, effective and affordable vaccines have been available for decades, yet...

13 October 2025 – Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancer, chronic lung conditions, and heart disease claim millions of lives across the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Each year, more than 2.8 million people die from these 4 major NCDs. In 2025, nearly 3 out of every 4 deaths in the Region were related to these conditions. And in times of...

8 October 2025 Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for joining us today. Today’s press conference will preview the 72nd Session of the Regional Committee, but first want to talk about Gaza. In September, I attended the High Level International Conference on the Two-State Solution at the UN General Assembly co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France,...

06 October 2025 Excellencies, distinguished guests, colleagues, and partners, Thank you for dedicating your time and commitment to this important dialogue. Our collective goal is clear: no woman or child should die from preventable causes. The discussions today reaffirmed the urgency of accelerating progress through national action,...