The Statement of the Regional Director Dr Hanan Balkhy for the post RC 71 press conference
17 October 2024
Doha, Qatar
Your Excellencies,
Media colleagues,
Distinguished guests,
I would like to welcome you to this press conference.
We have just concluded the 71st session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean, which was held from 14 to 17 October 2024, and hosted by the State of Qatar.
Before I start, I would like to thank Qatar for their generous hospitality and excellent organization.
I also thank their Excellencies the ministers of health, heads of delegations and delegates for their dedication, wisdom and knowledge. We have enjoyed exceptionally rich and productive discussions throughout the past four days.
The Regional Committee session was held against the backdrop of emergencies that unfortunately affect half of the countries of the Region. We are all acutely aware that precious lives are being lost every minute.
From the 12-month war in the Gaza Strip to conflicts in Lebanon, Sudan and Yemen and prolonged crises in Afghanistan, Somalia and other countries – our Region is facing unimaginable and unacceptable tragedy and suffering.
The theme of the session, “Health Beyond Borders”, reflected the strong commitment of all our Member States to work together to ensure that every single person in the Region can enjoy their fundamental human rights to life and health – no matter their location, nationality, economic or social affiliation.
The Regional Committee is WHO’s main governing body in the Eastern Mediterranean. This annual session is an essential opportunity for leaders and policy-makers from Member States to join partner organizations and WHO experts to consider key issues.
Naturally, much of our time was spent