Opening remarks by Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean at the High Level Virtual Ministerial Meeting on Accelerating Maternal, Newborn, and[...]

06 October 2025

Your Excellencies, Ministers of Health,
Regional Directors of UNICEF and UNFPA,
Distinguished guests, colleagues and partners,

I ask you to picture the following scene-all too common across our Region.

A mother in Mogadishu, heavily pregnant, walks for hours to reach the nearest health facility. When she finally arrives, there is no midwife on duty, no medicines, and no oxygen if her newborn needs urgent care.

For her-and for thousands of women like her-the difference between life and death does not hinge on cutting-edge technology, but on whether the basics are in place: skilled care, safe delivery, and simple, proven interventions.

In 2023, more than 800,000 children under five died in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Six countries-Afghanistan, Djibouti, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen-accounted for 85 per cent of these deaths.

These same countries also bear the heaviest burden of maternal mortality, with far too many women dying from preventable causes in childbirth. These are lives cut short, families shattered, and futures stolen.

The Sustainable Development Goals challenge us to end preventable maternal and child deaths by 2030. Yet on our current trajectory, we will fall short. This outcome is not inevitable if we act-boldly, urgently, and together.

The 77^th World Health Assembly resolution-championed by Somalia-demands accelerated progress. And this year's World Health Day campaign, "Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures," offers a platform to galvanize political will and mobilize resources.

We must keep maternal, newborn, and child health at the very top of national agendas-even in times of conflict, crisis, and competing priorities.

I urge you to:

Support an eventual a joint ministerial statement reaffirming commitment

Translate the WHA resolution into actionable national acceleration plans under the umbrella of Every Woman, Every Newborn, Everywhere and the Child Survival Action initiatives

And mobilize resources-domestic and international-to scale up proven interventions.

WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA stand with you. The choices you make today can change the future of millions-so that no mother needlessly dies giving life, and every child begins their journey with the promise of a healthy beginning and a hopeful future.