Regional director for WHO Eastern Mediterranean region appointed

The World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board, currently holding its 130th session, has appointed Dr Ala Alwan as the new WHO Regional Director for WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region (WHO/EMRO), which is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt. Dr Alwan will take up his appointment for a five-year term starting on February 1, 2012. He is taking over from Dr Hussein Abdel-Razzak Al Gezairy, a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) said here on Wednesday. EMRO comprises 22 countries: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. 'This is a region with considerable health, socio-economic and political challenges as well as diverse needs. But it is also a region with solid historical achievements and great promise,' said Dr. Alwan in his acceptance speech. 'I will focus on achieving the results that we, collectively, know are essential, especially in tackling the health challenges impacting the Region during the current economic and political climate.' Dr Alwan is a native of Iraq. From 2008 until the end of 2011, he was Assistant Director-General for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health at WHO Headquarters, where he led WHO's work that resulted in the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2011 of the Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases. The WHO Executive Board is comprised of representatives from 34 member states. The main functions of the Executive Board are to give effect to the decisions and policies of the World Health Assembly, to advise it and generally facilitate its work.