The 72nd session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean (RC72) concludes today after three days of high-level discussions under the theme “Together for a healthier future”.

The Regional Committee is WHO’s governing body in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, bringing together ministers of health and senior delegates from the Region’s 22 Member States and territories to address critical public health issues and agree strategy for the Organization. Health ministers were joined by representatives from partner organizations and WHO experts.

“We gather to shape political commitments that improve health for the 750 million people of our Region,” said WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr Hanan Balkhy.

“Despite abrupt funding cuts and shrinking fiscal space, we have continued to deliver. Yet with one third of global health emergencies and six protracted crises in our Region, the impact of reduced funding has been severe. Critical areas such as disease surveillance and control, outbreak and humanitarian response, and polio eradication have been among the hardest hit. The full effects may not yet be felt, but their consequences are already with us,” said Balkhy.