WHO Regional Director's statement on COVID-19
8 November 2021 – Thank you for joining us today for our regional press briefing on COVID-19. As of yesterday, 7 November, WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region has reported almost 16.4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases. We have also tragically marked the death of more than 300 000 people in our Region since the beginning of the pandemic. The overall...
High-level Syrian delegation of the Ministry of Health visits Oman to learn best practices in public health response
31 October 2021, Damascus – A high level delegation from the Syrian Ministry of Health starts its official visit to Oman today to learn about best practices in establishing emergency operations centres and strengthening public health response mechanisms. Supporting Syria’s health system and strengthening public health emergency preparedness and...
New WHO course strengthens health diplomacy for the pandemic era in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
1 November 2021 – The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an innovative online training programme to help key decision-makers in Member States of the Eastern Mediterranean Region work together effectively to develop global health policy. The new health diplomacy course is part of efforts to transform the Organization and ensure that all...
WHO delivers essential health supplies to Sudan
Khartoum, Sudan, 24 October — The World Health Organization (WHO) has delivered critical medicines and health supplies from its logistics hub in Dubai to Khartoum, Sudan to address the health needs of 1.5 million people, including the protection of over 300 000 front-line health workers. This operation represents the single largest air bridge...
Countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region use genome sequencing to monitor COVID-19 variants
Cairo, 21 October 2021– In order to control a disease like COVID-19, scientist need to better understand the evolution of the virus, as well as how it mutates into different strains. Throughout the course of the pandemic, genome sequencing is vital in detecting, identifying, and understanding the evolution and genomic diversity of COVID-19....
Regional Director’s remarks during the press conference on the closure of RC68
18 October 2021 - We have just concluded the 68th session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean, which was held remotely from 11 to 14 October 2021. This session was held under the theme “Rebuilding better and fairer: stronger systems, resilient communities”. It is a profound slogan that summarizes the goals that we aspire to...
Meetings of the RC68th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean
13 October 2021, Cairo ‒ The 68th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean resumed its session today tackling the Region’s most pressing public health issues through technical papers and panel discussions. Today’s three technical papers emphasized key health concerns and proposed a strategy for integrated disease...
High-level engagement sustained during session on polio at the Sixty-eighth session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean
13 October 2021 - The third meeting of the Regional Subcommittee for Polio Eradication and Outbreaks took place on Tuesday 12 October as part of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region’s Sixty-eighth session of the Regional Committee. Dr Hala Zayed, Minister of Health and Population, Egypt, and Co-Chair for the Subcommittee, reported back to Member...
Rebuilding better and fairer: WHO 68th session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean starts regular sessions today
12 October 2021, Cairo ‒ The WHO 68th session of the Regional Committee started its programme today with a presentation by Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, on the 2020 Annual Report. Dr Al-Mandhari outlined the main actions taken over the past two years in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as an...
68th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean opens in Cairo
Cairo, 11 October 2021 ‒ The 68th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean was inaugurated today in Cairo by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, and H.E. Dr Hala Zayed, Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population and chair of last year’s...