Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean and Editor-in-Chief, Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (EMHJ), inaugurated an expanded meeting of the Journal's editorial board, which was held in Cairo from 6 to 7 June 2015.

The Editorial Board meeting was expanded to include other key stakeholders in the EMHJ who play an important role in the production of the Journal and other relevant experts in order to bring a comprehensive perspective on the challenges facing the Journal and the solutions to move it forward.

The objectives of the meeting were to:

• review EMHJ achievements and challenges in 20 years of publication, with special focus on the past 3 years;
• review and endorse a draft publication ethics guideline; and
• propose actions to enhance the content and quality of the Journal. 

Over the 2 days of the meeting, presentations were made on:

• WHO’s vision for the EMHJ (Dr Arash Rashidian, Director, Information, Evidence and Research);
• overview of the EMHJ from 1995 to 2014 with emphasis on the regional strategic health priorities (Dr Ahmed Mandil, Coordinator, Research Development and Innovation);
• review of the past 3 years in key areas of production of EMHJ (Ms Fiona Curlet, Editor, EMHJ);
• reflections, challenges and suggested solutions from the perspectives of an: Editorial Board member (Professor Mahmoud Fathalla); Advisory Panel member (Dr Hooman Momen); EMHJ reviewer (Professor Samia Nossier); EMHJ author (Dr Hyam Bashour); and EMHJ technical editor (Dr Alison Bichard);
• evolution of the Bulletin of WHO to a major international journal of public health: lessons for EMHJ (Dr Laragh Gollogly, Editor, Bulletin of WHO)
• to what extent the EMHJ has targeted public health decision-makers? (Professor Reza Majdzadeh, Director, National Institute of Health Research, Islamic Republic of Iran);
• publication ethics: historical and contemporary perspectives (Dr Hooman Momen, Former Editor, Bulletin of WHO); and
• brief introduction to the draft EMHJ publication ethics guidelines (Dr Ahmed Mandil, Coordinator, Research Development and Innovation).

The various presentations generated active discussion on many important issues and numerous useful suggestions and actions were proposed for enhancing the Journal.

Summary report with recommendations 

Summary report on the Expanded meeting of the Editorial Board of the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, Cairo, Egypt, 6–7 June 2015.

Participants

Dr Tasleem Akhtar, Professor Emeritus, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan
Dr Thalia Arawi, Director, Salim El-Hoss Bioethics and Professionalism Program, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
Professor Hyam Bashour, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria
Professor Mohamed Saleh Ben Ammar, Professor in Anesthesia and Intensive Care, University El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
Dr Alison Bichard, Technical Editor to Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, Cairo, Egypt
Professor Mahmoud Fahmy Fathalla, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
Dr Orio Ikebe, Programme Specialist, Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO, Cairo, Egypt
Professor Reza Majdzadeh, Director, National Institute of Health Research, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Professor Ziad Memish, Former Deputy Minister of Health, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Dr Hooman Momen, Former Editor, WHO Bulletin, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Professor Samia Nossier, Department of Family Health, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria, Egypt 

WHO Secretariat

Dr Ala Din Abdul Sahib Alwan, Regional Director, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Dr Jaouad Mahjour, Director of Programme Management, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Dr Sameen Siddiqi, Director, Health System Development, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Dr Arash Rashidian, Director, Information, Evidence and Research, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Dr Khalid Saeed, Acting Director, Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Dr Laragh Gollogly, Coordinator, WHO Press, WHO Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland
Ms Jane Nicholson, Coordinator, Knowledge, Languages and Publishing, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Dr Ahmed Mandil, Coordinator, Research Development and Innovation, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Dr Mamunur Rahman Malik, Regional Adviser, Surveillance, Forecasting and Responses, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Dr Ismatullah Chaudhry, Medical Officer, Control & Prevention of Blindness, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Mr Hatem Nour El Din, Technical Officer, Knowledge Sharing and Production, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Ms Fiona Curlet, Editor, Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Mrs Nadia Abu-Saleh, Administrative Assistant, Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Ms Iman Fawzy, Team Assistant, Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Mr Mohamed Abdel Moteleb, Help Desk Assistant, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt