Side event: innovative approaches for preventing and controlling dengue and other …
15 October 2024, Doha, Qatar – The incidence of vector-borne diseases in the Eastern Mediterranean Region has increased significantly in the past decade. Factors include climate change, expanding and unplanned urbanization, international travel and population movement, weakened health systems in countries facing emergencies and other crises, chronic underinvestment in vector control capacity and growing resistance to insecticides.
Since 1 January 2023 till present, 12 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region have reported dengue outbreaks – up from 3 countries in 2017 – making dengue fever the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne disease. The Region has also witnessed an increasing burden of malaria in recent years, with Pakistan reporting major malaria outbreaks in 2022 and 2023.
In 2023, WHO announced a multi-regional grade 3 emergency for dengue, underlining the urgent need for innovative vector control strategies as part of an integrated vector management approach. Member States are urged to focus on building/strengthening an integrated multisectoral approach to tackle the burden of vector borne diseases.
There has been a global upsurge in dengue transmission. Since early 2023, the number and size of outbreaks has increased along with geographic spread as invasive dengue vectors, most notably the Aedes aegypti mosquito, move to areas previously free of dengue.
As part of a holistic approach to addressing the growing threat of vector-borne diseases, Member States are encouraged
