16 March 2021 – The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean will be organizing a webinar to launch the Report of the Regional Commission on Social Determinants of Health on Wednesday, 31 March 2021 at 11:00-13:00 (Cairo time, UTC+2).
In this webinar, the Report of the Commission "Build back fairer: achieving health equity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region will be presented followed by a high-level panel discussion on promoting health equity in the Region. The Commission was established by the WHO Regional Director Dr Ahmed AlL-Mandhari in November 2019 to review health inequities and issue recommendations to address these inequities in the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region. It has been jointly developed by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research and the Institute of Health Equity at University College London.
The Commission’s report is based on an in-depth analysis of structural issues, such as conflict and climate change, and the conditions of daily life in areas such as education and work, which impact the status of health equity in the Region. The report is expected to provide an evidence base and guidance on the Region’s progress in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals in alignment with WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work and the regional Vision 2023.
The agenda and list of speakers are outlined below.
Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean will present the opening remarks.
Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Chair of the Regional Commission on Social Determinants of Health will share some reflections on the report.
Observations will be provided by the following speakers:
- H.E. Dr Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al-Saidi, Minister of Health, Oman
- H.E. Dr Hala Zayed, Minister of Health and Population, Egypt, Chair of 67th session of Regional Committee (TBC)
- Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization
- Mr Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, WHO, will present some concluding remarks.
From left to right: Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari; Professor Sir Michael Marmot; H.E. Dr Hala Zayed; H.E. Dr Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al-Saidi; Mr Ted Chaiban; Dr Soumya Swaminathan
The webinar is taking place ahead of World Health Day 2021, the theme of which is health equity.
Related links
For further information, please contact:
Health Promotion and Social Determinants of Health Programme
Division of Healthier Populations
WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean
