3 May 2018 - On 5 May every year, the world celebrates International Day of the Midwife, with the theme of this year’s campaign being “Midwives leading the way with quality care”. The theme is in line with the first of 3 strategic directions of the International Confederation of Midwifes namely, quality, equity, and leadership. Maternal health...

2 May 2018 - The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed and condemns in the strongest terms the killing of Mariam Abdullahi Mohamed, a dedicated frontline worker in the WHO Somalia team, who was shot in Mogadishu on 1 May 2018. All WHO staff and the wider humanitarian community in Somalia are shocked and saddened by the news of this brutal...

“It’s in your hands – prevent sepsis in health care” 3 May 2018, Cairo – World Hand Hygiene Day, marked globally on 5 May, highlights the importance of hand hygiene in health care. The slogan of this year’s campaign is “It’s in your hands – prevent sepsis in health care”, illustrating the important relationship between good infection prevention and control...

2 May 2018 – Air pollution levels remain dangerously high in many parts of the world, including in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. New data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. Updated estimations reveal an alarming death toll of 7 million people every year...

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, and King Salman Ben Abdel Aziz of Saudi Arabia (right) 30 April 2018, Riyadh – Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, paid his first visit to Saudi Arabia Sunday on 29 April to meet with the Custodian of the 2 Holy Mosques, King Salman Ben Abdel Aziz.  “It has been a great honour...

25 April 2018, Cairo - On World Malaria Day 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners are calling on all concerned parties to be ready to end malaria - a disease which can be fatal and which affects millions of people, claiming many lives annually.  This year’s World Malaria Day coincides with activities to commemorate the 70th...

24 April, Cairo/Geneva -- As the international community comes together in Brussels to show support for Syrians and for a political solution to the conflict, WHO calls for increased investments in health to protect the lives of almost 17 million vulnerable men, women and children inside Syria and in 5 major neighbouring countries. Every day, Syrians are...

22 April 2018, Cairo – This year’s World Immunization Week campaign, celebrated from 24 to 30 April, aims to highlight that protecting entire communities with vaccines protects everyone and so the theme of this year’s campaign is “Protected Together, #VaccinesWork”.  Immunization is one of the most successful and cost-effective health...

17 April 2018, Cairo – On 19 May 2018, a Special Session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, for the sole purpose of nominating a new Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. Eight candidates have been proposed by Member States and information on each candidate is available on the...

March 2018 – This year, the theme of World Health Day is ‘Universal health coverage: everyone, everywhere’ under the slogan ‘Health for All’. Access to universal health coverage can prevent people from being pushed into poverty because they are forced to pay for the costs of their health care. Without universal coverage, the lives and welfare of...