Adolescent health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

The World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) includes 22 countries.1 It is a 1 region rich in natural resources but with marked variation in socioeconomic wealth and health 2 system capacities and coverage.2 It has also recently been plagued by social and political instability, 3 civil unrest and conflict, and mass displacement of people.3 As a result, health in the EMR has failed 4 to improve in recent years.3 As other papers in this series highlight, there is now an increasing 5 burden of many preventable health problems including HIV, mental disorders, and intentional self-6 harm. There is a risk that without urgent action, the health status of this region will only deteriorate 7 further, with both regional and global consequences for health, the stability of civil society, and 8 economic development.