Cairo, 31 January 2016 -- As the Zika virus outbreak continues to spread reaching 24 countries in the Americas (as of 27 January),  WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ala Alwan is calling on governments to work together to keep the Region protected.   “Zika virus is spread by the Aedes mosquito, the same type of mosquito that...

30 January 2016 – Outbreaks of Zika virus disease are currently ongoing in 22 countries in the Americas and in 1 country in Africa. No cases of the disease have so far been reported from any country in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. However, the disease is spread by a species of mosquito that exists in the majority of countries of the...

Speaking at a special briefing on Libya in Geneva, His Excellency Dr Reida Oakely, Libya’s Minister of Health, and Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative for Libya, appealed to the international community to step up efforts to help save nearly 2 million people. WHO and health partners require a total of US$50 million in 2016 to meet critical health...

31 January 2016 – 400 000 people, young and old, die every year in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region due to cancer. On World Cancer Day, 4 February, under the slogan “We Can. I Can.”, WHO is calling on governments to provide and improve access to quality cancer care and on communities and individuals to quit smoking, eat healthy food and keep...

Photo credit: WHO/I.Hamam17 January 2016 – As part of efforts to strengthen its response to emergencies in the Region and to continue the fight against polio, the World Health Organization (WHO) has established a regional centre for health emergencies and polio eradication in Amman, Jordan. The centre will be inaugurated Sunday 17 January 2016 in an...

14 January 2016 – Despite repeated calls for immediate access to meet urgent health needs throughout Yemen, the World Health Organization continues to be unable to deliver life-saving medicines and medical supplies in many parts of the country. Access to meet the health needs of the population of Taiz city is of particular concern. For the last 4...

Joint statement Dr Ala Alwan WHO Regional Director and Dr Peter Salama, UNICEF Regional Director Amman/Cairo, 14 January 2016 – This week’s delivery of urgently needed humanitarian supplies1 to the besieged communities of Madaya, Foua’a and Kafraya is a welcome step for a population in desperate need. During the mission to Madaya, our teams met many...

13 January 2016, Cairo, Egypt – Yemen’s Minister of Public Health and Population Dr Nasir Baoum and WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ala Alwan met today to discuss the humanitarian and health situation in Yemen.  “The situation in Yemen is critical. Hospitals, laboratories, blood banks and other health facilities are...

7 January 2016, Sana’a, Yemen – The World Health Organization is concerned about the deteriorating health situation in Taiz, where more than 250 000 people have been living in a state of virtual siege since November 2015. All of city's 6 hospitals have been forced to partially close some services, and are overwhelmed with injured patients....

24 December 2015, Sana’a, Yemen -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has delivered more than 100 tonnes of medicines and medical supplies for more than one million beneficiaries in 8 districts of Taiz governorate, where more than 3 million people, including 392,000 internally displaced persons, are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. The health...