Opening Remarks by Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. 64th Arab Health Council: WHA79 Side Event by the League of Arab States

18 MAY 2026

Excellencies, distinguished colleagues,

It is an honour to join you today, and I thank His Excellency the Chair, Dr Mohammed Al-Ghouj, Minister of Health of Libya, for this opportunity. We are meeting in the middle of the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly, and the issues on your agenda today are not separate from what Member States are debating across the Assembly halls. They are the same conversation.

Your second agenda item coordinating an Arab collective position on WHO's restructuring speaks directly to what we have been navigating at PBAC and throughout this Assembly.

The withdrawal of the United States from WHO has left a gap of US$260 million dollars in assessed contributions, triggering an Organization-wide realignment that will eliminate nearly a quarter of positions globally.^[1]

These cuts carry serious implications for our Region, which already bears nearly half the world's humanitarian health burden.

EMRO is reviewing priorities carefully to protect core functions. But Arab states cannot remain passive observers while these decisions are being shaped. The time to coordinate positions, speak collectively, and influence how resources are allocated is now not after the process is complete.

This is ultimately about the future of multilateralism itself. The International Health Regulations remain one of the most operationally important instruments in global health. Through the IHR, WHO scans and triages nearly half a million signals annually for potential public health threats. That surveillance and early warning capacity depends on a strong WHO.

Just days ago, WHO declared Ebola a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, activating coordinated international response mechanisms. At the same time, a hantavirus cluster is being monitored under that same framework. This is what a functioning multilateral system does and what we stand to lose if it weakens.

On health financing, the escalation of conflict in the Middle East comes at a moment when humanitarian funding is shrinking, development assistance is contracting, domestic budgets are under pressure, and health needs continue to rise.

This demands a broader approach to financing health. WHO EMRO has invested heavily in an innovative financing agenda that moves beyond traditional models to build a more diversified and sustainable ecosystem. This has included convening regional policy dialogues, developing a menu of strategic options for leveraging Islamic finance, establishing the EMR Health Financing Taskforce, and supporting health financing reforms in countries including Iraq and Egypt.

In December 2025, WHO, and as an outcome of a high-level dialogue held in Riyadh, with the Islamic Development Bank and the OIC, launched the Coalition on Islamic Financing for Global Health. The Coalition brings together governments, development banks, philanthropies and private sector actors to help countries translate health priorities into investable projects and connect Islamic financing directly to health system needs. The upcoming IsDB Annual Meeting in Baku this June offers the next opportunity to advance this work collectively.

On health emergencies, our Region continues to face overlapping crises that no country or institution can manage alone. Today, we are responding to 14 graded emergencies, more than 44 active outbreaks, and 117 million people in need.

WHO has launched a US$30.3 million flash appeal focused on Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Jordan, prioritizing trauma care, continuity of essential services and disease surveillance.

Gaza rightly commands global attention. But countries like Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, and Afghanistan remain equally central to our operational reality. I encourage this Council to deepen collective Arab solidarity in health emergencies ensuring that when one country faces crisis, political support, expertise and operational assistance can be mobilized rapidly to support WHO's response.

On global health architecture reform, WHO and the wider UN system are undergoing significant transition under the UN80 initiative. Arab states have every reason to engage actively in shaping this Member State-led process. I strongly encourage Arab states to engage more strategically through the EMRO framework arriving at the Regional Committee, the Executive Board and the World Health Assembly with coordinated positions, shared priorities and a unified voice. EMRO exists precisely to amplify your collective influence in global health governance. Use it.

Excellencies, the opportunities before this Council are many: a stronger regional financing framework, a coordinated Arab role in shaping global health reform, and deeper solidarity in times of crisis.

Arab States have the political weight, economic diversity and institutional platforms to shape these discussions decisively. WHO EMRO stands ready to support you.

^[1] Human resources: annual report. WHO's prioritization and realignment process in 2025‒2026. Report by the Director-General A79_21Add1-en.pdf