WHO Raises Alarm As Wars, Hunger And Disease Push Eastern Mediterranean Towards Health Emergency

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says a combination of armed conflicts, infectious disease outbreaks, worsening hunger and shrinking humanitarian budgets is creating an unprecedented health crisis across the Eastern Mediterranean.

The UN agency warned that already fragile healthcare systems are struggling to cope, with millions of people now unable to access the medical care and humanitarian support they desperately need.

Among the countries facing the gravest situation is Sudan, which WHO described as the region’s biggest humanitarian emergency. According to the agency, more than 30 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, while 13.5 million have been forced from their homes by the ongoing war. It added that persistent disease outbreaks and critical funding shortages are pushing the country’s health sector closer to collapse.

WHO also expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation across parts of the Middle East, warning that the latest wave of violence has erased recent progress towards easing tensions. The renewed fighting, it said, is putting more civilians at risk while making it increasingly difficult for aid organisations to reach those in need.

The agency further noted that recent attacks in Iran and parts of the Gulf, alongside continued threats to commercial vessels and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, are slowing the movement of medicines and other essential medical supplies, placing additional pressure on healthcare services across the region.