Health ministers and policy leaders from across the Eastern Mediterranean opened a three day regional summit in Cairo on Tuesday, facing what the World Health Organization describes as unprecedented strain on health systems amid sixteen concurrent emergencies affecting over 115 million people. The scale of humanitarian need represents roughly one third of the global caseload, concentrated in a region experiencing conflict, climate shocks, and collapsing foreign aid.
The 72nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean brings together decision makers at a moment when crisis response has become the norm rather than the exception. Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, opened proceedings alongside Dr Razia Pendse, Chef de Cabinet at WHO Headquarters representing Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and Dr Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh, Djibouti’s Minister of Health.
“We must move quickly from crisis response to recovery,” Dr Balkhy said in her opening remarks. “Rebuilding health systems will not only save lives today, it will restore dignity, stability and hope for the future.”
That shift from perpetual emergency mode to systematic recovery represents a central challenge for the region. Afghanistan, occupied Palestinian territory, Sudan, and Yemen face complex humanitarian crises where health infrastructure has been severely damaged or destroyed. Cuts in foreign aid are deepening pressures, leading to health facility closures and interruptions in disease surveillance and early warning systems that took years to establish.
The committee will consider five technical papers addressing urgent health priorities. One focuses on halving the number of zero dose children, those who have never received a single vaccine, by 2030 and eliminating rubella and congenital rubella syndrome. Between 2019 and 2023, 12.6 million zero dose children were recorded across the region, the majority in conflict affected and displaced communities.
These figures underscore how instability directly undermines basic health services. When families flee violence or live in areas where health workers cannot safely operate, routine immunization collapses. Children who miss vaccines during crises remain vulnerable to preventable diseases for years, sometimes permanently if they never enter health systems.
Another resolution addresses integrating palliative care into national health systems. Millions of people, including cancer patients, children with congenital conditions, and refugees with chronic illnesses, die in avoidable pain. Palliative care currently reaches just 1% of those in need across the region, a gap that reflects both resource constraints and cultural factors affecting end of life care discussions.
A dedicated resolution on health system recovery in crisis affected countries seeks to ensure humanitarian response goes hand in hand with early investment in rebuilding health infrastructure, restoring trust, and strengthening future resilience. This approach acknowledges that emergency aid alone cannot address systemic collapse in countries experiencing protracted conflict.
Ministers will also review laboratory safety and governance, described as a long overlooked area of regional health security. The committee will discuss frameworks to close gaps, protect health workers, and strengthen laboratories’ role in surveillance, diagnosis, and preparedness. Recent disease outbreaks have highlighted how laboratory capacity affects early detection and response speed.
A regional consultation to develop a climate resilient health framework appears on the agenda as well. Dust storms, extreme heat, floods, and water scarcity are reshaping the region’s health landscape and compounding existing vulnerabilities. Building on the Global Plan of Action on Climate Change and Health adopted at the World Health Assembly earlier this year, WHO is proposing a consultative process for a regional operational framework.
Climate impacts in the Eastern Mediterranean often exacerbate conflict related pressures. Water scarcity contributes to displacement and resource competition. Extreme heat affects vulnerable populations living in damaged housing or displacement camps. Dust storms worsen respiratory conditions in populations already dealing with air pollution from damaged infrastructure.
Progress reports on priority health issues will be reviewed alongside governance matters. Ministers will be invited to endorse a call to action on breast cancer, the leading cancer among women in the region. Such endorsements aim to translate political commitment into resource allocation and policy implementation at national levels.
Dr Balkhy noted the region’s burden of sixteen concurrent emergencies affecting over 115 million people requiring assistance. “The Eastern Mediterranean Region has much to show the world in its solidarity, courage, and innovation, and these strengths will come together at this year’s Regional Committee,” she said.
That framing positions the summit as highlighting resilience rather than simply cataloging crises. Yet the numbers tell a sobering story about capacity limits. WHO received just seven percent of funds required to respond to emergencies across the Eastern Mediterranean in 2025, leaving health facilities at risk of closure or severe disruption.
The agenda aligns with the Regional Strategic Operational Plan and three flagship initiatives on expanding access to medicines, strengthening the health workforce, and addressing substance use. These longer term priorities must compete for attention and resources with immediate humanitarian needs.
Whether ministers can generate momentum for systemic reform while managing acute crises remains uncertain. Previous regional committee sessions have produced resolutions that member states struggled to implement amid ongoing emergencies. The challenge lies in converting political commitments made in Cairo into operational realities in contexts where health systems face daily threats.
The meeting continues through Thursday with proceedings livestreamed on WHO’s regional office website and social media channels. Outcomes will be measured not by resolutions adopted but by whether member states follow through with the financial and political commitments necessary to translate plans into improved health outcomes for populations enduring some of the world’s most difficult circumstances.
For health workers throughout the region, the Cairo gathering represents a moment when their challenges receive high level attention. Yet attention alone cannot restore destroyed hospitals, replace departed health professionals, or compensate for years of interrupted training and capacity building that conflict and instability have caused.
The summit takes place against recognition that the Eastern Mediterranean’s humanitarian burden shows no signs of diminishing. Without fundamental changes in conflict dynamics, aid flows, and climate adaptation investments, health systems will continue operating in crisis mode regardless of resolutions adopted this week.
