WHO calls for urgent health action across the Eastern Mediterranean

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for promoting, providing and protecting health in the Eastern Mediterranean region, home to some of the world’s top humanitarian crises such as Sudan, Yemen and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was speaking on Wednesday to health leaders and senior officials attending the WHO regional committee meeting underway in Cairo, Egypt. “Over the past year, Member States have continued to advance the health and wellbeing of their people, often under the most difficult circumstances,” he said in remarks on the annual report for the region, which spans 22 countries and territories. He highlighted numerous achievements, including strengthened response to noncommunicable diseases – such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes –which account for roughly two thirds of all deaths in the region, with more than 2.8 million lives lost every year. Millions displaced, healthcare attackedYet, the report was also a reminder that the Eastern Mediterranean continues to face a multitude of challenges. “This region remains the epicentre of global humanitarian need, with more than 117 million people in need of human...