I am pleased to present this report on the work of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in 2021. The report outlines key achievements and challenges as we sought to realize our vision of health for all by all in the Region.
There were many challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic continued to take a grievous toll, with almost 17.5 million confirmed cases and more than 317 000 deaths reported across the Region in total by early January 2022, as well as severe disruption to health services, economies and communities.
But disruption also brought opportunities, driving large- scale investment and innovation. This report gives many examples of how WHO, governments and partners used new technologies and new ways of working to control the spread of infection, get life-saving vaccines to many millions of people and keep essential health services running.
Those changes offer the promise of major improvements in the longer term. We are now at the start of a new era in public health. Our fundamental task is to create better, more resilient health systems that can withstand multiple future challenges and ensure health security.
To build on the momentum during the year, I commissioned a major review of progress in implementing WHO’s vision for the Region. Vision 2023 and its accompanying regional strategy have guided all our work over the past three years.
Source: World Health Organization