Egypt, July 1, 2021 (TDI) — The new “COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan” report by WHO EMRO lays out the updated plan for country preparedness and response plan for 2021.
The Eastern Mediterranean Region, containing 9 percent of the world population has been home to the fourth-highest covid cases. Pakistan has fostered the third-highest cases at 9.1 percent after Iran and Iraq. According to the report, the Eastern Mediterranean saw 6.4 million deaths due to COVID-19 by February 2021 with Pakistan being one of the main contributors in the figures. SARS-COV-2 variants have also been identified in Pakistan along with Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, and other countries in the region.
The report points out the vulnerability of the 600 million people of the socioeconomically and geopolitically diverse cultures in the region. 43 percent of the population is in immediate need of humanitarian assistance. Most of these people are asylum seekers, stateless persons, internally displaced persons, and refugees. The report correlates the political inefficiency to factors exacerbating health and financial hardships that the people are facing.
The WHO EMRO recommends strong partnership, communication, logistical support, technical expertise, health management, and surveillance, international health regulations, research, essential health services, and vaccine development as key factors to counter the health crises. Regional objectives such as regional health planning and coordination, strengthening country capacities to control COVID transmission, minimizing exposure, ensuring equitable access to vaccines, and reducing mortality rates are highly stressed in the report.
Read the full report here
