Health

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,…

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 our…

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…

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, starvation, illness and…

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…

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 contributions and…

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 interventions…

7 May 2025, Cairo, Egypt – In February and April 2025, the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (EMHJ) published a 2-part special issue on the medical risks and public health implications of the war in Gaza. The issue features 38 papers on different aspects of public health.  Of the 38 papers, 11 focus on noncommunicable and chronic…

08 April 2025 Excellencies, Sayyid Dr Sultan bin Yarub bin Qahtan Al-Busaidi, Advisor in the Private Office. Dr Hilal Bin Ali l-Sabti, Minister of Health Ladies and Gentlemen It gives me great pleasure to join you here today to launch the National Health Policy for the Sultanate of Oman 2025-2035. In pursuit of “health for…

17 April 2025 Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my pleasure to join you here today at the TCT Plus Middle East inaugural international conference on cardiovascular care. We come from a Region of broken hearts. It is enough to turn on the news to have your heart broken a million times each day. But…