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Statement by the WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean on the importance of preventative measures in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic
10 September 2020 – This week, our Region reached another grim milestone as we surpassed 2 million cases of COVID-19. We are observing developments that remind us again that we must remain extremely vigilant in managing this virus. Several countries that had successfully controlled transmission a few months ago, including Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan...
WHO and partners launch training resource on primary health care practice in the context of COVID-19
6 September 2020, Cairo ‒ A new online training resource on “Primary health care (PHC) practice in the context of COVID-19” has been developed by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and partners and will be launched tomorrow, Monday, 7 September 2020. The online training aims to support PHC personnel in their efforts to maintain...
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...
