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 attacked
Yet, 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 humanitarian assistance,” he said. It is also home to some of the world’s largest displacement crises.
“Conflict continues to affect millions of people across several countries and territories,” he said.
“We continue to see an appalling number of attacks on healthcare and climate-related shocks continue to place additional pressure on already fragile health systems.”
These developments are unfolding amid a sharp fall in international funding for both healthcare and humanitarian operations and increasing fiscal constraints at the national level.
“At the very moment when needs are increasing, resources are declining,” he said.
Investment and preparation
Tedros urged leaders to continue measures that promote health, such as reducing tobacco use and other risk factors for noncommunicable diseases and ensuring that all children are vaccinated.
Governments should also continue to invest in strong, equitable and resilient health systems and in health workers.
“Make every primary healthcare facility a place where a woman can receive quality care during pregnancy, where every newborn and child can get a healthy start in life and where hypertension, diabetes and cancer can be detected and managed early,” he said.
The WHO chief called for protecting health by strengthening preparedness, security and resilience.
“The threats facing this region are evolving,” he warned, noting that conflicts and outbreaks continue while climate risks continue to grow.
“Preparedness cannot be an afterthought. Preparedness saves lives before emergencies begin,” he said, underlining the need for continued investment in surveillance, laboratories, emergency workforces, resilient health facilities and supply chains.
