Select your language
Scaling up infection prevention and control capacities in fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings
25 Oct 2023, Field visit to the very well-equipped central sterile services department (CSSD) at Zarqa Hospital, Jordan. The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region is at a critical juncture to capitalize on the momentum from the COVID-19 response. Turning temporarily scaled-up capacity in countries and territories into permanent capacities, agendas and...
UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO Regional Directors call for immediate action to halt attacks on health care in Gaza
Statement by Ms. Laila Baker, UNFPA Arab States Regional Director; Ms. Adele Khodr, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa; Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean More than half of the hospitals in the Gaza Strip are closed. Those still functioning are under massive strain and can only...
WHO loses communication with contacts in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza amid reports of attacks
Many of the wounded have been cared for in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza since early October 2023. Photo from 15 October 2023. Credit: WHO 12 November 2023 — WHO has lost communication with its contacts in Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza. As horrifying reports of the hospital facing repeated attacks continue to emerge, we assume our contacts...
Risk of disease spread soars in Gaza as health facilities, water and sanitation systems disrupted
8 November 2023 – As deaths and injuries in Gaza continue to rise due to intensified hostilities, intense overcrowding and disrupted health, water, and sanitation systems pose an added danger: the rapid spread of infectious diseases. Some worrying trends are already emerging. Lack of fuel has led to the shutting down of desalination plants,...
Attacks on health care in Gaza Strip unacceptable, says WHO
4 November 2023 — WHO condemns the attacks on 3 November near Al-Shifa Hospital, Al-Quds Hospital, and the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza City and North Gaza governorates. According to reports, at Al-Shifa Hospital, ambulances were evacuating critically injured and sick patients to hospitals in the south of the Gaza Strip when there was an attack at...
WHO Regional Director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari concludes visit to Lebanon
01 November 2023, Beirut, Lebanon – As hostilities escalate on the border between Lebanon and Israel, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari has concluded a visit to Beirut, where he met with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Health, UN partners, and WHO staff to reinforce health system preparedness for a...
Healthy Cities Conference concludes with Doha Statement
1 November 2023 – The Doha Statement on Healthy Cities was endorsed today, concluding the Eastern Mediterranean Healthy Cities Conference2023 jointly organized by WHO and Ministry of Public Health of Qatar. The Doha Declaration serves as a call for action to advance towards to sustainable urban well-being. The 2-day event brought together experts and...
WHO welcomes decision by Egypt to receive patients from Gaza Strip
1 November 2023 – The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes Egypt’s decision to accept 81 injured and sick people from the Gaza Strip for treatment. WHO has been working to support the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population in planning and establishing a comprehensive triage, stabilization, and medical evacuation system, by providing...
Eastern Mediterranean Region Healthy Cities Conference 2023 opens, with 15 countries participating
31 October 2023, Doha, Qatar – Her Excellency Dr Hanan Mohammed Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health of Qatar, today inaugurated the 3-day Eastern Mediterranean Region Healthy Cities Conference 2023, organized by the Ministry of Public Health and the World Health Organization (WHO). The opening ceremony was attended by Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO...
Meet the heroes powering our emergency response: Dr Sayed Abo Bakar Rasooli, Health Emergencies Officer, and Incident Manager for Herat Earthquakes Emergency Response, WHO Afghanistan
Episode 2 Dr Sayed Abo Bakar Rasooli, Health Emergencies Officer, and Incident Manager for Herat Earthquakes Emergency Response, WHO Afghanistan 30 October 2023 – I was resting at home, as I do on weekends, when I felt the powerful earthquake that struck Afghanistan’s Herat province a little after 11:00 on 7 October 2023. It was so unusually...
