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Monday, 14 October 2024 – Ministerial plenary sessions
Session 1
(a) Election of officers
Chair
2 Vice-Chairs
(b) Adoption of the provisional agenda and provisional daily timetable (EM/RC71/1-Rev.2)
(c) Decision on the establishment of the Drafting Committee
Session 2
Overview of the Flagship Initiatives
Session 3
Regional Flagship Initiative 1: Securing equitable access and supply chain of medical products
Session 4
Regional Flagship Initiative 2: Investing in a resilient and sustainable health workforce
Lunch break
Session 5: Regional Flagship Initiative 3: Accelerating the control of substance use
Session 6: Eastern Mediterranean Region strategic operational plan, 2025–2028
Break
Session 7: Opening ceremony
Recital from the Holy Quran
Address by Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean (followed by a video)
Address by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General
High-level segment
Keynote address by Izzeldin Abuelaish, Professor of Global Health, University of Toronto
Awards
Group photo
Tuesday, 15 October 2024 – Regular sessions of RC71
Session 1
Annual Report of the Regional Director 2023 and Vision of the Regional Director (Regional strategic operational plan and Flagship Initiatives)
Discussion
11:00–11:30
Break
11:30–13.00
Session 2
Update on emergencies in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Emergencies in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Special update on the health and humanitarian situation in Palestine
Latest on the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB)
Discussion
Lunch break (Hosted ministerial lunch by H.E. The Minister of Public Health of Qatar and Chair of RC71 under the theme “Health and Sports”)
Session 3
Special updates
Polio eradication in the Eastern Mediterranean Region including the reports of the tenth and eleventh meetings of the Regional Subcommittee for Polio Eradication and Outbreaks
Discussion
Session 4
Governance matters
Reports of the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first meetings of the Programme Subcommittee of the Regional Committee
Membership of WHO bodies and committees
Application from the Russian Federation to attend the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean in an observer capacity
Procedure for accreditation of regional non-state actors not in official relations with WHO to attend meetings of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean
Place and date of future sessions of the Regional Committee
Break
Session 5
Side event: Dengue and vector control in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Session 6
Side event: Launch of the regional framework for Immunization Agenda 2030
Wednesday, 16 October 2024 – Regular sessions of RC71
Session 1
Technical paper
Addressing the increasing burden of trauma in humanitarian settings in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Discussion
Session 2
Technical paper
Promoting collaborative action to accelerate the response to antimicrobial resistance in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Discussion
Break
Session 3
Technical paper
Regional action plan for mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies, 2024–2030
Discussion
Session 4
Technical paper
Enhancement and digitalization of health information systems in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a regional strategy, 2024–2028
Discussion
Lunch break
Session 5
Panel discussion
Artificial intelligence for achieving universal health coverage and health security: nurturing the opportunities and mitigating the risks
Session 6
Closed meeting (side event): The impact of economic sanctions on health and health services in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: What are the real consequences?
Break
Meeting of the Drafting Committee
Parallel Meeting
Closed meeting: Foundation for the State of Kuwait Prize for the Control of Cancer, Cardiovascular Diseases and Diabetes in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Regional Director’s special event on the Investment Round followed by dinner
Thursday, 17 October 2024 – Regular sessions of RC71
Session 1
World Health Assembly and Executive Board follow-up – Governance and administrative matters
Review of the draft provisional agenda of the 156th session of the WHO Executive Board
Discussion
Update on implementation of the WHO Transformation Agenda in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Discussion
Nomination and appointment of Regional Directors: Review of the process for the election of Regional Directors
Discussion
Process of handling and investigating potential allegations against WHO Directors-General
Discussion
Session 2
Coordination of work of the Health Assembly, Executive Board and the Regional Committees
Resolutions and decisions of regional interest adopted by the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly and the Executive Board at its 154th and 155th sessions
Discussion
Break
Session 3
World Health Assembly and Executive Board – Programme and budget matters
Draft proposed programme budget 2026-2027
Discussion
WHO Investment Case 2025–2028 and latest on the WHO Investment Round
Discussion
Lunch break
Statement from the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region Staff Association (EMRSA)
Statement by the Association of Retired and Former WHO Staff in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR/RFS)
Session 4
Adoption of resolutions and decisions
Session 5
Closing session
