LAUSR

This series of papers comes at a time when there are major challenges facing health development in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Without understanding the challenges facing populations in this region, one cannot identify the way forward in improving their health and fulfilling their aspirations. One of the characteristics of the region, which strikes anyone who lives in it, or who has visited it extensively, is its diversity and heterogeneity, as well as its commonalities. Although many countries have made great gains and have built extensive modern networks of health infrastructure, these gains have not been shared across and within countries. In our work in the region, we opted for grouping the countries into three groups based on several health outcomes and health system performance indicators (WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean 2012a). Despite the heterogeneity of the region in socioeconomic terms and health indicators, health policy makers agreed since 2012 on five key health priorities that are shared, to varying degrees by all countries (WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean 2012b). These priorities, which cover the health conditions reviewed in this issue, are health security and communicable diseases, the non-communicable diseases epidemic, the high burden of maternal and child mortality, emergency preparedness and response and the overarching challenge of health system strengthening and universal health coverage. In moving forward to address these priorities, I wish to make the following points: