23 December 2020 – Almost a year has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic started spreading across the world, putting millions of lives at risk, presenting unprecedented challenges on health systems, and further aggravating already weakened country economies. Health facilities are overwhelmed, and the health care workforce is facing global...

Globally, almost 4.6 million new cases were reported to WHO last week, another new high record since the beginning of the pandemic, with a record 78 000 new deaths reported last week. Total cases reported to WHO have surpassed 75 million and there have been over 1.6 million deaths. At the regional level, we have been seeing an overall trend of...

Recorder message 22 December 2020 - As per the information reported by the national authorities in the United Kingdom, the new strain or variant is showing greater transmissibility. Research is now ongoing to find out how fast it can spread and whether the increased transmissibility relates purely to the new variant itself or there are other...

20 December 2020 – This winter, as countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region head into an increasingly concerning period characterized by escalating cases of COVID-19 and persistent transmission of the virus, we must be more vigilant than ever to protect our loved ones and ourselves. The pressures of of living with COVID-19 for such an...

Cairo, Egypt, 15 December 2020 – Despite remarkable gains in health over the past few decades, the world is not on track to achieve the health-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and people, especially the most marginalized, are being left behind. The COVID-19 pandemic is setting progress back even further. In a landmark...

To end this crisis and build a safer and healthier future, we must invest now in health systems that protect us all 10 December 2020 - International Universal Health Coverage Day on 12 December is the annual rallying point for Health for All by All. It marks the anniversary of the United Nations’ historic and unanimous resolution for universal...

8 December 2020 – As winter starts across the Region, the pandemic continues to take a worrying course. A few countries have made progress in controlling the outbreak, while others are still seeing unprecedented increases in the number of cases, and sometimes even the number of deaths. Following a sharp increase in the number of cases over the...

7 December 2020, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia ‒ The Islamic Advisory Group for Polio Eradication (IAG) in its seventh annual meeting acknowledged the unprecedented challenges to polio eradication posed by the disruptions to health care delivery, including to routine immunization and polio vaccination campaigns, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The...

19 November 2020 – I would like to extend a warm welcome to our guests today: H.E. Ms Faeqa Bint Saeed Al-Saleh, Minister of Health of Bahrain, H.E. Dr Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant to Prime Minister for National Health Services Regulations and Coordination, Pakistan, and Dr Faycal Ben Salah, Director General of Health, on behalf of H.E. Dr...

29 October 2020 – Statement for the WHO media briefing by Dr Rana Hajjeh, Director, Programme Management, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Dear colleagues, The COVID-19 pandemic in the Eastern Mediterranean Region has reached an alarming juncture. The highest weekly number of cases since the beginning of the pandemic was reported...