Breastfeeding is important for both child and mother. It protects the baby against illnesses and malnutrition, and also reduces the mother’s risk of diabetes, obesity and even some cancers. Many women do not breastfeed as long as they would like to due to restrictions and commitments. This must change. Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for...

30 July 2024  Jerusalem, Cairo, Geneva - Today, 85 sick and severely injured patients from Gaza were evacuated to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), for specialized care. This extremely complex joint evacuation was supported by the the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the Government of the UAE and other partners. This is the...

28 July 2024, Cairo, Egypt – “It’s Time for Action”, urges WHO’s campaign to mark World Hepatitis Day 2024. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region and globally, WHO is calling on governments and communities to intensify efforts to combat hepatitis, emphasizing the need for urgent action. Fighting hepatitis in the Eastern Mediterranean Region raises...

Cairo, Copenhagen, Geneva, 24 July 2024—Sixteen people from Gaza with complicated medical conditions will arrive in Spain today to receive care there, through an evacuation process involving the World Health Organization (WHO) and multiple partners. Fifteen of them are children, ranging in age from 3 to 17 years old. The mother of one of the...

1 August 2024, Cairo, Egypt – Breastfeeding has proven benefits for infants and mums. Yet many women do not breastfeed for as long as they’d like as they lack a supportive environment. This year, the World Breastfeeding Week campaign centres on “Closing the gap: Breastfeeding support for all”. Breastfeeding is one of the best ways to ensure a...

22 July 2024 – An event to mark the 50th anniversary of the Essential Programme on Immunization (EPI) was hosted by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean on the evening of 17 July 2024, in Cairo, Egypt. EPI is a cornerstone of global public health since it came into being in 1974, originally as the Expanded Programme on...

18 July 2024, Cairo, Egypt – World Health Organization Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr. Hanan Balkhy today met with Ambassador of Japan to Egypt His Excellency Mr. OKA Hiroshi to discuss ongoing and future collaborations between WHO and the Government of Japan. During the meeting, Dr. Balkhy expressed deep appreciation for the...

Dear colleagues, Good morning / good afternoon, I’ve just returned from the United Arab Emirates, where I visited WHO’s logistics hub in Dubai. At the time of my visit, WHO staff were preparing supplies to be airlifted to Lebanon and Sudan. I was impressed at how the logistics hub has significantly expanded its capacity to handle the increased...

11 July 2024, Cairo, Egypt -- I have just returned from the occupied Palestinian territory, where I visited the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Jenin, and Gaza. The situation in Gaza is concerning on both a human and humanitarian level. I saw firsthand the scale of devastation: lives and homes in ruins, hospitals overwhelmed, and a fully...

ADRE, CHAD, 10 JULY 2024 – As millions flee war and hunger in Sudan, senior leadership from WHO’s Africa and Eastern Mediterranean Regions converged in Chad, which hosts the largest number of Sudanese refugees, to assess the urgent health needs of people impacted by this complex and deteriorating humanitarian crisis. The mission aims to optimize WHO...