Resilience and recovery: 100 days after the Herat earthquakes. Photo credit: WHO/Zakarya Safari
10 December 2025, Cairo, Egypt – On 10 December every year, the world observes Human Rights Day, commemorating the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. This landmark document enshrines the fundamental rights and freedoms that belong to every person, including the right to health and well-being.
In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, where communities face overlapping challenges – from conflicts and displacement to climate-related emergencies – the protection and promotion of health rights, particularly those of marginalized and vulnerable populations, is an urgent priority.
“Last year, WHO marked World Health Day 2024 with the call My Health, My Right—a reminder that health is a universal right, not a privilege. That message carries even more weight today as we commemorate Human Rights Day 2025 under the global theme Our Everyday Essentials. This campaign underscores that human rights are practical, achievable guarantees of safety, dignity and equality in an unpredictable world,” said WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Hanan Balkhy.
Everyone has the right to quality health services and the essentials that shape well-being – clean air, safe care, bodily autonomy, informed consent and freedom from violence.
Health systems that uphold human rights empower individuals and communities. Every step towards realizing universal health coverage (UHC) is a step towards realizing human rights. When health systems protect people from financial hardship and discrimination, societies thrive. Yet in many countries, medicines account for more than half of out-of-pocket health spending, pushing families into poverty. This is unacceptable. The right to the highest attainable standard of health means that everyone should have access to medicines and safe, quality health services, without fear, without bias and without facing financial ruin.
On Human Rights Day 2025, WHO urges governments across the Eastern Mediterranean Region to reaffirm their commitment to health as a human right. This means investing in strong, inclusive health systems, accelerating progress toward universal health coverage and ensuring that policies protect people from discrimination and financial hardship. Governments must prioritize access to essential medicines, safe and quality health services and social protection measures that prevent poverty due to health costs. By embedding human rights into health policies and practices, countries can build resilience, foster equity and secure a healthier future for all.
WHO stands ready to support governments as they turn these commitments into action. Across the Region, WHO works with Member States to strengthen health systems, develop rights-based policies and expand access to essential services and medicines.
Through technical guidance, capacity-building and emergency response, WHO is helping countries advance towards universal health coverage and ensure the right to health for everyone, everywhere.
