19 May 2025 Excellencies, Distinguished Colleagues, It is an honour to join you today, and I thank His Excellency the Chair―Dr Saleh al-Hasnawi, Minister of Health of the Republic of Iraq―for this important opportunity. The World Health Organization greatly values its longstanding partnership with the League of Arab States. Our cooperation is rooted...

15 May 2025, Cairo, Egypt – The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean has launched a landmark innovation designed to transform how countries prepare for and respond to health emergencies. The All-Hazard Information Management (AIM) Toolkit leverages generative artificial intelligence to drastically reduce...

13 May 2025 Thank you for joining today’s WHO/EMRO press briefing. I always appreciate the opportunity to connect with our media colleagues. I will begin with an update on some of the most acute emergencies in our Region. We remain deeply concerned about the catastrophic situation in Gaza, with more than 52,000 deaths and nearly 120,000 injuries...

12 May 2025 – Cairo/Geneva/Jerusalem, The risk of famine in Gaza is increasing with the deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid, including food, in the ongoing blockade. The entire 2.1 million population of Gaza is facing prolonged food shortages, with nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition,...

12 May 2025 Your Excellency Dr Jaleela bint Al-Sayed Jawad Hassan, Distinguished guests, It is an honour to address this important forum, which reflects the shared commitment of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the League of Arab States, and WHO to equitable access to essential medicines and the strengthening of pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing in...

12 May 2025 Good morning, and a very warm welcome to all of you. As we commemorate International Nurses Day, we honour the dedication, resilience, and leadership of nurses across the Eastern Mediterranean Region and beyond. Nurses and midwives are the backbone of our health systems―comprising more than half of the global health workforce. Today, we launch the...

12 May 2025, Rabat, Morocco – World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Hanan Balkhy concluded her first official visit to Morocco, from 5 to 7 May 2025. The visit represents a major step in strengthening collaboration between WHO and the Government of Morocco. Dr Balkhy’s meeting with Minister of Health and...

12 May 2025, Cairo, Egypt – On International Nurses Day 2025, celebrated on 12 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and United Arab Emirates are hosting the regional launch of the State of the World’s Nursing 2025 report, complementing the global launch. As we honour the extraordinary...

12 May 2025, Cairo, Egypt – The eighth UN Global Road Safety Week begins on 12 May. This year, the international campaign, requested by the United Nations General Assembly, focuses on walking and cycling. The campaign provides an opportunity to advocate for national and local action to make walking and cycling safer through evidence-based...

7 May 2025, Cairo, Egypt – In February and April 2025, the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (EMHJ) published 2 special issues on the medical risks and public health implications of the war in Gaza. The issues (Volume 31 Number 2 and Volume 31 Number 4) feature 38 papers on different aspects of public health. Of the 38 papers, 11 focus on...