27 January 2021 – Dear colleagues, welcome to our first press briefing in 2021. When we look back on 2020, we see a catastrophic year, brought on by a global pandemic that continues to devastate, taking lives and livelihoods, and leaving in its path fear and grief. We saw regional and national capacities stretched to their limit as efforts to...

19 January 2021 – The World Health Organization and partners will be launching a new road map on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) for 2021‒2030 on Thursday, 28 January 2021, from 14:00 to 16:00, with participation of heads of state, WHO’s Director-General, WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, and other WHO...

Cairo, 7 January 2021 – Countries in the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Eastern Mediterranean Region have reported over 5 million cases of COVID-19 and 123 725 deaths since the first cases was reported in the Region on 29 January 2020. “The past year has been an exceptionally challenging time for us all. The pandemic has taken a dreadful toll...

An end-of-year message from Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean 28 December 2020 – As 2020 draws to a close, I would like to thank all WHO’s countries, partners and colleagues in the Eastern Mediterranean Region for the commitment and courage you have shown during the past year. It has been an exceptionally...

23 December 2020 – Almost a year has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic started spreading across the world, putting millions of lives at risk, presenting unprecedented challenges on health systems, and further aggravating already weakened country economies. Health facilities are overwhelmed, and the health care workforce is facing global...

Globally, almost 4.6 million new cases were reported to WHO last week, another new high record since the beginning of the pandemic, with a record 78 000 new deaths reported last week. Total cases reported to WHO have surpassed 75 million and there have been over 1.6 million deaths. At the regional level, we have been seeing an overall trend of...

Recorder message 22 December 2020 - As per the information reported by the national authorities in the United Kingdom, the new strain or variant is showing greater transmissibility. Research is now ongoing to find out how fast it can spread and whether the increased transmissibility relates purely to the new variant itself or there are other...

20 December 2020 – This winter, as countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region head into an increasingly concerning period characterized by escalating cases of COVID-19 and persistent transmission of the virus, we must be more vigilant than ever to protect our loved ones and ourselves. The pressures of of living with COVID-19 for such an...

Cairo, Egypt, 15 December 2020 – Despite remarkable gains in health over the past few decades, the world is not on track to achieve the health-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and people, especially the most marginalized, are being left behind. The COVID-19 pandemic is setting progress back even further. In a landmark...

To end this crisis and build a safer and healthier future, we must invest now in health systems that protect us all 10 December 2020 - International Universal Health Coverage Day on 12 December is the annual rallying point for Health for All by All. It marks the anniversary of the United Nations’ historic and unanimous resolution for universal...