12 December 2024, Cairo, Egypt — Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day is celebrated annually on 12 December. This year’s theme, “Health: It’s on the government”, underscores the role governments play in ensuring that no one is forced to choose between health care and necessities such as food. To mark UHC Day 2024, the World Health Organization...

4 December 2024 Good afternoon, everyone, and greetings from Cairo. As we hold our final press briefing of the year, I am reflecting on the steadily increasing health needs of our Region, and the road that lies ahead. This has been a profoundly difficult year, marked by tremendous grief and loss for the people of our Region. The path ahead is...

5 December 2024 – The Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (EMJH) has published a special edition examining the role of taxation in addressing the public health challenges posed by the consumption of tobacco and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Consumption of SSBs and tobacco and nicotine products increases the...

2 December 2024, Cairo, Egypt – The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a new report that highlights how, if left unaddressed, breast and cervical cancers in the Eastern Mediterranean Region could result in the loss of millions of lives and billions of dollars over the next 2 decades. Women’s cancers represent a major public health...

This World AIDS Day, I want to emphasize the importance of knowing one’s HIV status. There are an estimated 530 000 people living with HIV in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, but just 38% of them know that they are HIV positive. Only those who know their [HIV] status can access treatment, live healthy lives and prevent transmission to others. Providing...

26 November 2024, Cairo/Kabul – WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Hanan Balkhy recently concluded a 3-day visit to Afghanistan where she met with the country’s de facto authorities, health officials and humanitarian partners to discuss critical health priorities. Central to the discussions were Afghanistan’s efforts to...

16 days of activism to end violence against women The 16 Days of Activism campaign is an annual call for action to End Violence Against Women. In February 2000, the United Nations General Assembly designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. We have made some progress since then, but sadly we...

24 November 2024, Cairo, Egypt – Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a major threat to public health, economic growth and development in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Misuse and overuse of antibiotics is a key driver of AMR. At almost 25% higher than the global average, the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region has the...

More health workers and patients have been killed proportionally in Lebanon than in Ukraine and Gaza 22 November 2024, Beirut, Lebanon – Since 7 October 2023, 47% of attacks on health care – 65 out of 137 – have proven fatal to at least one health worker or patient in Lebanon, as of 21 November 2024. This is a higher percentage than in any active...

17 November 2024 – Every day, at least 300 people in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region lose their lives due to road crashes, and many more suffer injuries and disabilities. So, we never forget the faces behind the numbers, World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was started in 1993. In 2005, the United Nations endorsed it as a global...