Review workshop for the first phase of the project to improve monitoring capacity in humanitarian and fragile settings, September 2023. Photo credit: WHO/Health Emergencies Programme 15 October 2023, Cairo, Egypt – In the complex landscape of fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable (FCV) settings, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) play a crucial...

Photo credit: Ministry of Health, Occupied Palestinian territory 14 October 2023 – As the United Nation’s agency responsible for public health, the World Health Organization (WHO) strongly condemns Israel's repeated orders for the evacuation of 22 hospitals treating more than 2000 inpatients in northern Gaza. The forced evacuation of patients and...

14 October 2023, Cairo, Egypt – A plane carrying 78 cubic metres of health supplies from WHO’s logistics hub in Dubai has landed in Al-Arish airport in Egypt. The supplies will be delivered to Gaza to meet critical health needs as soon as humanitarian access through the Rafah crossing is established. Every hour these supplies remain on the...

Jerusalem, 12 October 2023 - WHO warns that the health system in the Gaza Strip is at a breaking point. Time is running out to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe if fuel and life-saving health and humanitarian supplies cannot be urgently delivered to the Gaza Strip amidst the complete blockade. Hospitals have only a few hours of electricity each...

12 October 2023 – A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the western region of Afghanistan on 7 October 2023 caused widespread devastation in a country facing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. Women, children and vulnerable populations are gravely affected by the disaster. WHO’s Country Office in Kabul and field office in Herat...

12 October 2023, Cairo, Egypt − The 70th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean concluded today. RC70 took place amid a barrage of emergencies in the Region, including escalating hostilities and a deteriorating humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, increasing conflict in northwest Syria and...

11 October 2023 – The climate crisis is the greatest health challenge of the 21st century. The mean temperature is increasing rapidly and other climatic variables are worsening – and these changes are occurring twice as fast in the Eastern Mediterranean Region as elsewhere in the world. The health impacts of climate change are substantial and include...

11 October 2023 – RC70 today saw the launch of the second volume in a series of progress reports on the Eastern Mediterranean Region’s efforts towards achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The regional Vision 2023 is anchored in and contributes to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Progress on the...

11 October 2023 – In the wake of the devastating flood crisis that struck Libya, the World Health Organization (WHO) works with local health authorities in eastern Libya to establish a range of mental health services, from basic psychological first aid to specialized psychiatric care. WHO is supporting the setting up of mental health clinics...

11 October 2023  – Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the world’s biggest killers and a leading cause of death in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, killing more than 2.8 million people every year. The prevalence of NCDs in the Region is high: an estimated 66.5% of deaths are attributed to these diseases. This alarming situation worsens in...