18 September 2024  – Today marks 100 days since the arbitrary detention by de facto authorities in Sana’a of more than 50 personnel from the UN, international and national NGOs, civil society, and diplomatic missions. In addition, four UN staff members have been detained since 2021 and 2023. Attacks on humanitarian workers, including detentions...

18 Septebember 2024 FIFA and World Health Organization launch global concussion awareness campaign  Suspect and Protect will highlight risks of concussion and provide educational resources for everyone involved at every level of football Knowing the signs and symptoms of suspected concussion and how to protect players can help to make the game...

13 September 2024, Jerusalem/Amman/Geneva - Around 560 000 children under ten years old were vaccinated against polio during the first round of an emergency vaccination campaign conducted in three phases from 1-12 September 2024 in the Gaza Strip. The 12-day campaign provided novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to 558 963 children, following...

Jerusalem, Cairo, Geneva, 12 September 2024 - At least one quarter or 22 500 of those injured in Gaza by 23 July are estimated to have life-changing injuries that require rehabilitation services now and for years to come, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) analysis of the types of injuries resulting from the ongoing conflict in Gaza:...

Port Sudan, 9 September 2024 — WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Regional Director Dr Hanan Balkhy yesterday concluded a two-day mission to Port Sudan, where they reaffirmed WHO's commitment to reaching all Sudanese in need and called on the international community to urgently act to end the extreme health and humanitarian...

Jerusalem, Amman, Geneva, 4 September 2024 – Over 187 000 children under ten years of age were vaccinated with novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) in central Gaza during the first phase of a two-round polio vaccination campaign, conducted between 1-3 September 2024. Vaccination coverage in this phase exceeded the initial estimated target of...

4 September 2024, Cairo, Egypt – On 3 September, as part of its ongoing activities to celebrate World No Tobacco Day 2024, the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean organized an event that included an exhibition of drawings by children from the Region on tobacco control and the announcement of the results of the One Voice video...

Extreme temperatures and drought are affecting snake habitats, including in Iraq’s marshes (pictured), leading the animals closer to human habitats, especially in rural and periurban settings. Photo credit: WHO/K. Nasser2 September 2024  – Globally, someone is bitten by a snake every 10 seconds, according to estimates. Snakebite envenoming is a...

19 August, 2024 Today, on World Humanitarian Day, we stand united in honouring the extraordinary dedication of humanitarian workers who, in the face of extreme adversity, continue to bring hope, relief and essential services to millions in need across the Eastern Mediterranean Region and, indeed, across the world. This day serves as a reminder of our...

7 August 2024 Thank you for being here. The past two weeks have once again highlighted the scale and complexities of emergencies across our Region. In that short period of time, there have been variant poliovirus strains detected in Gaza, military strikes and assassinations in several countries that further threaten regional security, a...