71st session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean
11 October 2024, Doha, Qatar ‒ The Seventy-first session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean will be held in Doha, Qatar from 14 to 17 October 2024 under the theme health beyond borders: action, access, equity.
Ministers of health and high-level representatives of the 22 Member States and territories of WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region, and representatives of partner organizations and civil society, will meet to discuss priority public health issues.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Hanan Balkhy and chair of the 70th session of the Regional Committee and Minister of Health and Human Services of Somalia H.E. Dr Ali Haji Adam Abubakar will address the opening session. It will also be attended by Qatar’s Minister of Public Health H.E. Dr Hanan Al-Kuwari.
During the session, Dr Balkhy will present her regional vision for the endorsement of Member States. The vision, which aims to secure the best attainable level of health for everyone in the region, includes 3 flagship initiatives: on expanding timely and equitable access to life-saving medicines and vaccines; building a more resilient health workforce, and reducing the morbidity, mortality and social costs associated with substance use disorders.
“The starting point to achieve our goals is to focus on the 3 flagship initiatives that will serve as accelerators for the regional vision and its strategic operational plan, which in turn is based on the WHO’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW14),” said Dr Balkhy.
The Regional Strategic Operational Plan describes what WHO aims
