Source: WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean |

Every Breath Counts: increasing access to medical oxygen in Somalia

Every Breath Counts aims to reduce pneumonia- and diarrhoea-related morbidity and mortality among children aged under 5 years in the project’s target districts

A project to reduce the alarmingly high number of child deaths related to pneumonia and diarrhoea in Somalia has been formally launched by King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) and WHO. The Every Breath Counts project aims to increase access to medical oxygen, set up mother and child…

WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean
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    • WHO supports Benghazi Children’s Hospital with cancer medicines
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Source: WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean |

WHO supports Benghazi Children’s Hospital with cancer medicines

The medicines are being provided under a joint WHO–Ministry of Health project, funded by NOC and its international partners, to strengthen paediatric cancer care in Libya

On 23 November 2023, WHO and the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) delivered a fifth batch of oncology medicines and supplies to Benghazi Children’s Hospital to treat child cancer patients. This latest delivery includes medicines to treat children with leukaemia, lymphomas and melanoma. The medicines are being provided under a…

Source: WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean |

World Health Organization (WHO) meets with President El-Sisi to discuss assistive technology

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimates that there are 12 million people living with disabilities in Egypt

Following a series of virtual meetings on assistive technology with WHO and the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO), Egypt's President H.E. Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi requested a WHO mission to support Egypt’s goal of leaving no one behind and realizing the rights of people with locomotor disability to enjoy health…

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    • WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean officially launches WHO emergency health response plan for drought in Somalia calling for early action to protect health and save lives
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Source: WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean |

WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean officially launches WHO emergency health response plan for drought in Somalia calling for early action to protect health and save lives

The ongoing drought in Somalia and across the Horn of Africa is known to be the region’s worst one in the last 4 decades

During his 3-day visit to Somalia, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari visited North Galkacyo in Puntland state of Somalia to oversee WHO’s ongoing drought response activities, see the work of community health workers in delivering integrated health and nutrition services to…

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    • High-level dignitaries, including both the Federal and Puntland's Health Ministers with the WHO Representative, Ambassador of Sweden and NIH Executive Director, attended the research conference. Credit: WHO/Mukhtar
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Source: WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean |

Somalia makes history by hosting its first ever health research conference in Garowe

WHO extended financial support to the conference, through the Alliance for Health Policy and System Research (AHPSR)

The COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated the importance of health research in finding solutions to health challenges. To address the most urgent health priorities using evidence-based solutions, the Ministry of Health and Human Services of the Federal Government of Somalia and National Institute of Health (NIH), with support from the World…

Source: WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean |

Coronavirus: Regional Director’s statement on COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

WHO has emphasized that the response to COVID-19 is not the responsibility of governments and partners alone but requires a whole-of-society approach

In just a few days, we will see the 20th million person in our Region infected with COVID-19. Over the past 2 years, the losses due to the pandemic have been staggering, with more than 324 000 lives lost, major economic decline, social divisions, and family disruptions.   The virus continues…

Source: WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean |

Forgotten diseases: Achieving health equity to end the neglect of poverty-related diseases in Somalia

NTDs are known to be ‘neglected’ owing to the lack of attention they receive, including from the donor community, policy-makers and stakeholders

 In May 2021, the World Health Assembly resolved to dedicate 30 January each year as World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day to shed light on the public health challenge that neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) pose in countries such as Somalia. This came about as a result of lobbying from the United…

Source: WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean |

Coronavirus: In the battle against Omicron, vaccines continue to offer important protection against COVID-19

The current focus must remain on reducing transmission, increasing vaccine coverage, preventing severe disease and death, and protecting health systems

With the rapid spread of Omicron causing sharp increases in cases worldwide and leaving health systems overwhelmed, WHO urges for broader access to available COVID-19 vaccination in low coverage countries, prioritizing groups at higher risk of severe disease and death. Weeks since its declaration as a variant of concern (VOC),…

Source: WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean |

The National Oil Corporation in Libya donates US$ 5.7 million to WHO to relieve the suffering of children with cancer

Health outcomes of children with cancer in Libya have been jeopardized by acute shortages of paediatric cancer medicines, essential equipment and shortages of trained staff

Today, WHO and the National Oil Corporation (NOC), together with its international partners ENI, Repsol and TotalEnergies, signed a multi-million dollar agreement to strengthen treatment services for children with cancer in Libya. Health outcomes of children with cancer in Libya have been jeopardized by acute shortages of paediatric cancer medicines,…

Source: WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean |

WHO and IFRC partnership aims to build regional capacity in responding to key public health challenges

The aims of the agreement between WHO and IFRC are to strengthen the support provided to countries in order to improve the health and well-being of populations living in emergencies

The WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari and the Regional Director of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Dr Hossam Elsharkawi, today signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance collaboration to support countries in the Middle East and North Africa…