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Statement by WHO's Regional Director on an upsurge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
3 September 2020 – Our Region is close to approaching a new grim milestone of 2 million COVID-19 cases: as of 1 September, the cumulative number of cases in the Region is now more than 1 936 221, with 51 326 deaths. Of greatest concern is a new upsurge in cases in a number of countries, highlighting the negative consequences of lack of adherence...
Statement by WHO's Regional Director on COVID-19 developments in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
28 August 2020 – As of 26 August 2020, a total of 1 862 635 COVID-19 cases has been reported in the Eastern Mediterranean Region since the start of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which represents 8.0% of the global burden of more than 23 million cases reported to date. Some countries in the Region have seen an upsurge in COVID-19 cases after...
WHO Regional Director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari congratulates the African Region on becoming wild poliovirus-free
25 August 2020 - Today, the independent Africa Regional Certification Commission certified WHO's African Region as wild poliovirus-free after 4 years without a case. Finally, the world can breathe a sigh of relief as the scourge of wild poliovirus is certified eradicated from the entire African Region. This historic milestone marks the...
Statement by Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director, on World Humanitarian Day
19 August 2020 – Today, on World Humanitarian Day, I would like to acknowledge the bravery and dedication of humanitarian aid workers and heath staff across the Eastern Mediterranean Region and beyond. Health workers and humanitarians in our Region work under some of the most challenging contexts in the world, where many countries are facing...
Statement by WHO's Regional Director on the search for a COVID-19 vaccine
19 August 2020 – Recently, we reached another grim, global milestone, with more than 21 million cases of COVID-19 reported. In our Region, we are on the brink of reaching 2 million cases. But still, it is never too late to turn the outbreak around. There is a lot of hope on the discovery of an effective vaccine for COVID-19, and a lot of news and...
Statement by WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean on the deaths of children in Syria’s Al Hol camp
Cairo/Damascus, August 13, 2020 - The World Health Organization is appalled and saddened to learn of the deaths of 8 children under the age of 5 in Syria’s Al-Hol camp. These deaths are reported to have occurred within 4 days and due to different conditions, including underlying malnutrition, dehydration from diarrhoea, internal bleeding, heart...
Lebanon press briefing statement
12 August 2020 – Thank you for joining us for the regional press briefing on the health situation and response to the Beirut blast. Once again, we express our sympathies to all those who have lost loved ones, and to all those who have been injured. People in the city and across the entire country are still reeling from the impact of the blast...
WHO requires US$ 15 million to support immediate Beirut blast response and ensure vital health and disease prevention activities are maintained
Cairo/Beirut, August 6, 2020 – As the public health impact of the Beirut blast becomes clearer, WHO is calling for US$ 15 million to cover immediate emergency trauma and humanitarian health needs and ensure the continuity of the response to COVID-19 across the country. “We are particularly concerned about overburdened hospital and health...
Statement by WHO's Regional Director on standing with the people of Lebanon following deadly Beirut blast
6 August 2020 – Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, our Region was plagued by emergencies. More than 70 million people were directly or indirectly affected by political conflict or natural disasters and in need of humanitarian aid. In the past 6 months, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, the Region was impacted by another...
Plane carrying WHO trauma and surgical supplies arrives in Beirut, Lebanon
5 August 2020, Beirut, Lebanon – A plane carrying 20 tonnes of WHO health supplies has landed in Beirut, Lebanon, to support the treatment of patients injured by the massive blast that occurred in the city on 4 August. The supplies will cover 1000 trauma interventions and 1000 surgical interventions for people suffering from injuries and burns...
