Developing the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal to support public health research in the Region (Editorial).

Since 1995, the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (EMHJ) has sought to publish public health research, regionally and globally, in accordance with the mandate and goals of the World Health Organization (WHO). As part of a family of WHO journals, the EMHJ is an open access public health journal and makes no charge for review or publication of accepted papers, allowing research manuscripts as well as policy-related works from institutions with different financial status an opportunity to be published and remain freely accessible to all. Supporting countries that are developing their health research base remains an important focus for the EMHJ, in line with the WHO Thirteenth General Programme of Work 2019-2023 (GPW13), and its mandate to strengthen research on public health priorities.

Promoting bioethics in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (Editorial).

Bioethics addresses a broad swathe of human enquiry, ranging from the allocation of scarce health resources to cultural sensitivities over reproductive health. Historically an increasing number of nations have created official bodies to provide advice to their executive and legislative branches, and often to the general public, about bioethics. Termed "National Ethics / Bioethics Committees", such bodies are appointed by ministries of health, education, science and technology, or legislatures to synthesize available evidence and offer recommendations about concurrent issues in bioethics, especially as such issues bear on potential needs to develop national policies and to adopt legislations. Health research has grown substantially in the low- and middle-income countries, including the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), with clinical trial activity in some of its nations tripling between 2008 and 2011. However, indigenous scholarship and expertise are essential when examining the complex debates over how health research is conducted and whether effective oversight can be promoted in resource-limited Member States. Moreover, the notion of ethics in any capacity draws in sensitive matters pertaining to cultural and religious values, and applying western concepts of bioethics in their entirety, may not always be an appropriate course to take.

WHO's support for COVID-19 research and knowledge management in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

Health research, innovation and knowledge management remain major priorities of the WHO's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) supports priority research initiatives that address gaps in current knowledge regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a specific call for proposals, 122 research proposals were received and reviewed in 2020, of which 17 were recommended for funding from eight countries. Ten countries in the region participated in the global solidarity trial to assess potential therapies for COVID-19. In addition, WHO advocated for early serological and epidemiological investigations ('COVID-19 Unity Studies') on the general population, healthcare workers, pregnant women and neonates, and extending technical, financial and material support for them.Starting in early 2020, scholarly articles on COVID-19 have been published in every issue of the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal More than 6300 publications on COVID-19 were made available on the WHO knowledge management portal in the last year alone. WHO is also supporting countries in conducting studies to assess the field effectiveness of vaccines deployed nationally. To build and strengthen country capacities, regional webinars and intercountry meetings were conducted on research ethics, national health information systems and evidence-based health policy making. With support from WHO EMRO's new research and knowledge management pillar, countries in the region were well equipped to contribute to a global understanding of the novel virus's characteristics, as well as employ a national response based on informed evidence.