Health workforce in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: From COVID-19 lessons to actions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating and unprecedented impact on health and health systems globally leaving an indelible mark on health system infrastructures. The pandemic also clearly demonstrated the critical role of health workers for well-performing health systems, in particular during emergencies and have prompted the need to undergo a critical re-evaluation of health systems and health workforce design and implementation. As the year 2023 marks the halfway point of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development, the time is pertinent for action by governments and partners to scale up the health workforce to advance towards sustainable developement goal (SDG) 3 on health and well-being and other health-related SDGs, building on the lessons from COVID-19. Therefore, at the 70th session of World Health Organization Regional Committee for Eastern Mediterranean, Member States unanimously adopted a resolution to call for accelerated actions to address health workforce challenges through solidarity, alignment, and synergy of efforts in order to rebuild resilient health systems after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reviewing recent achievements and preparing for accelerated action on health: highlights of 70th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

From 9 to 12 October 2023, WHO Member States in the Eastern Mediterranean Region came together at the Organization's regional office in Cairo, Egypt, for the 70th Session of its main regional governing body, the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean. This year's meeting was particularly significant, marking not only the 75th Anniversary of WHO itself, but also my final session as Regional Director. As such, it was an important opportunity to take stock of the public health situation across the Region. With that aim in mind, participants were presented with 2 major new publications: an analysis of progress towards the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Region (1) and a report on the implementation of WHO's regional vision during my term (2).

Enhancing the quality and accuracy of national cancer registries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

We cannot prevent cancer, detect it early, diagnose, treat, and palliate it without reliable data. Continuous, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of cancer-related data are essential to effectively plan, implement and evaluate cancer control activities and policies. Enhancing routine health information systems to ensure that cancer-related data are well captured is essential, just as fostering functioning cancer surveillance systems, particularly population-based cancer registries (1,2). Population-based cancer registries play a critical role in the planning of national cancer control and prevention strategies, monitoring and evaluation of cancer care services, as well as cancer epidemiological and clinical research (1).

Next generation support and stronger institutions for evidence-informed policy-making.

Evidence-informed policy-making benefitted from much-needed attention and resources during the COVID-19 pandemic (1). As a result, 3 key movements and innovations are now making it possible to provide better evidence support (higher quality and more aligned to the speed of advisory and decision-making) for policy-making than ever.

Strengthening hospital resilience in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

"Adaptation is surviving but resilience is for thriving."In recent years, the multiple threats of COVID-19 and other disease outbreaks, intensified climate change and severe weather events, and increasing conflicts and humanitarian emergencies have highlighted the need to strengthen resilience in the different sectors, including social, economic, environment, and health. Resilience is the ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate, adapt to, transform, and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions through risk management.

Earthquakes as triggers for public health disasters: WHO and health systems' response.

The February 2023 earthquakes in Syria and Türkiye The earthquakes that hit southeast Türkiye and northwest Syria in February 2023 have been the most devastating among several earthquakes witnessed globally in the past decades. As of 28 February 2023, it had caused the death of over 50 000 people and affected more than 18 million others. In northwest Syria alone, the earthquakes affected at least 96 communities and 35 sub-districts, damaging or destroying more than 10 000 buildings, including 48 health facilities, and leaving over 11 000 people homeless (4). More than 45 000 deaths and 85 000 injuries have been reported in Harim, Afrin and Jebel Saman districts, and at least 50 000 families displaced in Aleppo, Homs, Hama, and Latakia.

Mitigating the resurgence of cholera in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

Countries in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) are currently experiencing a resurgence of cholera. As of 31 December 2022, 8 of the 22 Member States in the region - Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen - were grappling with outbreaks of cholera and acute watery diarrhoea (AWD). More than 1 000 000 suspected AWD/cholera cases, more than 7500 laboratory-confirmed cases, and 375 cholera-associated deaths were reported across the region in 2022.

All in for Universal Health Coverage and global health security - reinforcing partner engagement in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) Vision 2023 "Health for All by All" and the EMR Strategy 2020-2023 "Turning Vision into Action" place partnerships at the centre of WHO engagement, to enhance its voice, extend its technical and operational reach, and mobilize needed resources. To be effective, partnerships need to evolve from primarily transactional imperatives to strategic collaboration based on shared vision, value addition and trust.

Gaza disaster: we need a permanent ceasefire, now!

Another year ends with multiple humanitarian crises ongoing simultaneously across the globe. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 9 of the 22 Member States and territory are considered fragile or conflict-affected, with severe health consequences for the population.

Genomic sequencing for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response: EMRO's vision and strategic interventions.

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is an approach for studying and analysing the entire genomic sequence of pathogens. It provides the most comprehensive characterization of an organism's genetic make-up. In January 2020, scientists used next-generation sequencing (NGS) as one of several sequencing technologies to study severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and to reveal the first genetic makeup of this new virus only 11 days after the first cluster of cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic was reported. This crucial information was vital to the subsequent rapid development of test kits, vaccines and treatment regimens to respond to the pandemic. The sequencing information, later as the pandemic evolved, became essential for informing public health policies through monitoring and characterization of SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Reaching the Sustainable Development Goals in the post-COVID-19 era - the 69th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

After nearly 3 years of increasingly successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers and other stakeholders need to broaden their focus to deal with other public health challenges too. That was the message of the 69th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, which took place at WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (WHO/EMRO) in Cairo, Egypt, from 10 to 13 October 2022. The Regional Committee is the WHO's main governing body in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). Its 2022 annual session brought together ministers of health, other representatives of Member States, WHO experts, partner organizations, civil society groups, and other stakeholders to discuss a wide range of health policy issues, review achievements and challenges, and chart a course for the region. For the first time in 3 years, Member State delegations were able to meet in person, with many other participants joining virtually.

Monkeypox outbreak and response efforts in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

Monkeypox (MPX) is a viral zoonotic disease that is endemic in some countries of Central and Western Africa. Since 1 January 2022, cases of MPX have been reported to WHO by 74 Member States across all 6 WHO regions. As of 21 July 2022, a total of 15 328 laboratory confirmed cases and 72 probable cases, including 5 deaths, have been reported to WHO. Most (11 638/15 328, 76%) of the laboratory-confirmed cases were reported by countries of the WHO European Region, 22% (3316/15 328) by the Region of the Americas, 2% (301/15 328) by the African Region, less than 1% (53/15 328) by the Western Pacific Region, less than 1% (18/15 328) by the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) and less than 1% (2/15 328) by the Region of South-East Asia. All five deaths were reported by the African Region.

Country offices as operational base for WHO programmes: the case of Qatar.

Globalization, integration, digitization, and engagement have become commonly used terminologies reflecting the strategic and forward-looking nature of public health in the 21st Century, as public health programmes aim to make impact globally while acting locally.The World Health Organization (WHO) Constitution had laid the foundation 75 years ago in a visionary way of the important functions of the Organisation, the scope of support to countries, and the potential role country offices should play. Member States are at the centre of WHO's work across the globe, and technical assistance to them is channeled primarily through country offices, which attempt to foster decentralization of WHO's work across the globe and provide avenues to consult directly with in-country stakeholders and agree on priority health needs.

"Our planet, our health": saving lives, promoting health and attaining well-being by protecting the planet - the Eastern Mediterranean perspectives.

Cognizant that every human has the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the World Health Organization (WHO) is promoting the health and well-being of all by all. To achieve this mission in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), a strategic vision was adopted calling on Member States and partners to anchor solidarity and action to achieve Health for All by All in the Region. The vision focuses on the need to address the environmental causes of diseases while targeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and fulfilling the human rights to live in a healthy environment.

From working in emergency to working for peace: leveraging health to build peace in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

The World Health Organization has noted the important synergies between health and peace since its very inception, both in its foundational document and in its work globally. The WHO Constitution remarks that the "health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace and security and is dependent on the fullest co-operation of individuals and States". In addition, peace is noted as being one of the fundamental conditions to promote health in the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion in 1986. The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) has been contending with the challenges borne of conflict and insecurity for decades. Currently, nine out of the 22 countries and territories in the Eastern Mediterranean Region are represented in the World Bank's List of Fragile and Conflict Affected States ranging from acute conflict to high institutional fragility.

Addressing the health-related SDGs in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Regional Health Alliance strengthens collaboration towards better health.

The United Nations launched the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, as a more detailed and ambitious follow-up to the Millennium Developments Goals (MDGs). Health and wellbeing of all, at all ages, is addressed by the third SDG (SDG3) and health-related targets of other SDGs. However, progress to date on the health-related SDGs in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) is not on track. Although there was progress in over half of the 50 health-related SDG targets and indicators between 2015 and 2019, there is still a long way to go. Progress is required, among others, in reducing maternal, child and neonatal mortality; increasing vaccination coverage; reducing the number of cases of malaria and HIV; and in tackling the increase in mortality rates due to noncommunicable diseases. Much progress is needed in many health-related SDGs considered as important social, economic and environmental determinants of health.