WHO and IsDP meeting to explore enhanced collaboration and opportunities to scale health investments across the Region. Photo credit: WHO
Cairo, Egypt, 11 February 2026 – The World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Cairo Regional Hub held this week a high-level coordination meeting to advance joint health investment and strengthen operational cooperation across 7 countries/territories served by the IsDB Cairo Hub: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, the occupied Palestinian territory, Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic. The meeting builds on the WHO–IsDB Strategic Framework Agreement (2022) and focused on aligning priorities to accelerate progress on universal health coverage, primary health care and resilient health systems.
Held in a hybrid format at the WHO Regional Office in Cairo, the session brought together senior representatives from both institutions to review financing pathways, explore country-level opportunities and agree on a practical roadmap for the months ahead.
“Our partnership with the Islamic Development Bank is a cornerstone of how we mobilize smarter, more sustainable financing for ensuring health and building resilience, which is the key word in our work with partners,” said Dr Mira Ihalainen, Coordinator for Communications and Partnerships at the WHO Regional Office.
“Health is at the core of human development, and our collaboration with WHO enables us to design and deliver investments that directly improve the lives of people across our member countries,” said Mr Noureddine Mabrouk, Regional Manager at the IsDB Cairo Regional Hub.
Discussions centred on mobilizing innovative financing through the Health Impact Investment Platform (HIIP) - co-led by WHO, the IsDB, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) - which helps countries prepare high-quality investment cases prior to borrowing. Lebanon is already engaged, and Jordan is being explored as a pipeline country. WHO also presented a Health Impact Trust Fund concept to leverage blended and impact-linked financing for priority health programmes; the IsDB will review the proposal for alignment with its investment modalities.
Introducing the IsDB perspective and their work at the country-level, the IsDB Cairo Hub Regional Manager shared portfolio and context updates that reflected IsDB’s long-standing and catalytic role in development financing across the Region, particularly in complex and fragile contexts:
- Egypt: WHO will share a concept note on the National Health Insurance Project, including refugee inclusion.
- Sudan: While operations remain suspended due to arrears, humanitarian and refugee health support continues; WHO will share information on World Bank and AfDB-supported initiatives for potential alignment.
- Syria: IsDB missions have resumed, with several proposals under review; the Al‑Mowasat Hospital project could proceed if formally submitted by the Ministry of Finance.
- Lebanon: The portfolio has been streamlined, with engagement continuing through the HIIP.
- Occupied Palestinian territory: The Khaled Al‑Hassan Hospital infrastructure project has been approved and is set to launch.
- Iraq: Re-engagement since 2020 continues, with encouragement for joint implementation with United Nations agencies to ensure delivery and compliance.
WHO outlined plans to establish a regional health financing taskforce, convening Ministries of Health and Finance to drive sustainable health financing reforms. The IsDB will participate as a core institutional partner, with an inaugural meeting already held in Cairo in December 2025. Both institutions emphasized revitalizing the Islamic Advisory Group (IAG) and enhancing collaboration within the Arab Coordination Group (ACG), including support for the regional pooled procurement initiative.
WHO reiterated the importance of sustaining momentum on polio eradication and transition, noting the Eastern Mediterranean Region remains the only WHO region with two polio-endemic countries - Afghanistan and Pakistan. WHO invited the IsDB to renew engagement, building on its historic support. WHO will share the Polio Investment Case and Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) updates as part of immediate follow-up.
The discussion acknowledged climate-related health risks, including temperature-sensitive vector-borne diseases and the implications of migration and displacement for health system resilience.
The discussions also focused on ensuring alignment, investment pathways, and agreeing on the next steps.
At the closing of the meeting, WHO reiterated commitment to sharing updates on high priority health topics and events.
WHO and the IsDB will continue coordination on project opportunities in Lebanon, Sudan and Syria, and will establish regular quarterly coordination meetings starting in quarter 1 of 2026, to track progress and identify new opportunities. The two parties will also explore a bilateral meeting between the WHO Regional Director and the IsDB President on the margins of Abu Dhabi Finance Week.
