13 October 2022 – Qatar set a goal of achieving at least one WHO Healthy City accreditation by 2022 only to get there ahead of schedule when, in 2021, both Doha and Al Rayyan were awarded the designation. The Healthy Cities Programme makes health a central concern in all aspects of city administration, from transportation to waste management.

In Somalia, solar-powered medical oxygen systems are saving lives, demonstrating how innovation can accelerate impact in fragile settings. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit only 26% of medical facilities surveyed in Somalia had an oxygen source. Now, solar-powered oxygen systems are being used in four locations to treat a wide range of patients, from delivering mothers and newborns to the elderly.

Sudan has taken a significant step forward in transforming its health system by defining a Priority Benefits Package covering primary, secondary and tertiary care.

A unique partnership in which WHO is working with the private sector to address a public health challenge is saving acutely malnourished children in northeast Syria where 11 years of conflict have caused widespread food insecurity.

In 2021, 481 children were treated at a new specialized nutrition centre serving three governorates in the northeast. Thanks to expert care and clinical nutritional supplies, 97% were cured.