The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean region (EMRO) is struggling to address “an unprecedented number of health emergencies” driven by state fragility and conflict, climate-change-related extreme weather events, mass displacement and economic disparities”, regional director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari told a media briefing on Wednesday.

The most pressing immediate problems involve assisting Libya after its recent floods and addressing the humanitarian needs of people caught in the armed conflict in Sudan.

Dr Hala Khudari, an official from WHO’s Libya office, reported that 4,333 deaths had been recorded but that about 8,500 persons were still unaccounted for. Meanwhile, 101 health workers had died, including 25 specialists.

“The corpses are found in many places. Even yesterday and two days ago, there were corpses found about 250 kilometres off the beach, which shows the magnitude of this disaster,” said Khudari.

Even before Storm Daniel struck the country, a decade of conflict had taken its toll on Libya’s health system, with acute shortages of staff, medicines, equipment and medical technologies, according to the WHO.

Al-Mandhari said that “protracted armed conflicts have ravaged nine of the region’s 22 countries and territories, resulting in increased trauma, displacement and attacks on health care”, and 55% of world’s refugee population lived in the region.

“Nearly six months after the outbreak of war in Sudan, 70% of the country’s hospitals are not functional and malnutrition levels are soaring,” he added.

Next week, the EMRO region holds its regional conference where it will discuss the multiple crises and elect new leaders. 

Six candidates have made themselves available for election. Iraq has nominated pharmacologist Najim Abbas Jabir Al-Awwadi and Morocco has proposed former health minister Anass Doukkali. Pakistan has suggested health systems expert Abdul Ghaffar and Iran has put forward health policy professor Ali Akbari Sari.

Sudan has nominated its goodwill health ambassador Ahmed Farah Shadoul and Saudi Arabia has proposed the sole woman, clinical and public health specialist Hanan Hassan Balkhy.  If elected, she would be EMRO’s first-ever female regional director.