End of Mission Statement by Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, on her first official visit to Libya

13 May 2026 - I conclude my visit to Libya with genuine respect for the determination and professionalism I witnessed across the health sector. Over four days, I met with senior officials, national institutions, health workers, development partners, UN colleagues, and patients and their families. I visited health facilities and emergency preparedness infrastructure across Tripoli and Misrata. In that time, I observed a country moving with intent from recovery toward reform. WHO is committed to supporting Libya in closing that distance.

Health System Reform and Universal Health Coverage

The signing of the 2026-2027 Strategic Collaboration Framework with Minister of Health H.E. Dr. Mohamed Al-Ghouj set a clear agenda: strengthening primary health care, advancing digital transformation, reforming health financing, investing in the health workforce, and improving access to medicines. My meeting with H.E. Prime Minister Abdulhamid Aldabaiba confirmed political commitment at the highest level essential for the structural reforms Libya needs.

I commend the Ministry of Health for the leadership it is demonstrating through its reform agenda and 100-Day Initiative. Building effective health systems requires governance, coordination, accountability and sustained investment, and these efforts are laying important foundations for long-term progress.

The High-Level Policy Dialogue on Universal Health Coverage drew on comparative experiences from Türkiye and Oman. The exchanges were substantive, and the gaps were honestly acknowledged: family medicine remains underdeveloped, digital integration is nascent, and financing reform requires sustained political follow-through.

Field visits to Al-Harat Primary Health Centre and Al-Jalaa Maternity Hospital the latter supported through the WHO-GIZ partnership illustrated both the commitment of frontline workers and the investment still needed in infrastructure and supply chains. My visit to Al Jalaa coincided with the International Day of the Midwife a timely reminder of the essential role midwives play in maternal and newborn survival, and of the investment still needed to support and retain them within Libya's health system.

Health in All Policies

Improving health outcomes in Libya requires action well beyond the health sector. Climate-related health risks, poor nutrition, noncommunicable diseases, and the social determinants driving health inequity all require cross-sectoral responses. WHO is providing specialist support to build the governance and policy frameworks that make this possible, and will push for greater integration of health considerations into national planning processes.

Emergency Preparedness and Health Security

The National Centre for Disease Control is a genuine institutional asset running immunization programmes, early warning systems, and reference laboratories across the country.

The inauguration of the Emergency Ward and the pilot field hospital of the Emergency Medicine and Support Centre reflect meaningful progress in building response capacity to WHO standards for Emergency Medical Teams and pursuing global classification.

The new Central Emergency and Response Room at the Ministry of Health monitoring hospital bed capacity in real time and coordinating referrals nationwide is an operationally significant step, particularly relevant for a country where fragmented emergency response has cost lives.

Recently, with the support from WHO, Libya successfully conducted the Joint External Evaluation (JEE), which provided a comprehensive assessment of the country's capacities under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005). The evaluation helped identify key strengths as well as existing gaps in the areas of prevention, detection, and response to public health events and emergencies. Building on the findings and recommendations of the JEE, Libya translated these priorities into concrete and actionable interventions through the development of the National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS), which serves as a strategic roadmap to strengthen national health security capacities and enhance preparedness and response capabilities across sectors.

WHO will continue supporting integrated disease surveillance, laboratory sequencing capacity, and national emergency medical team development. The NCDC's role in coordinating Libya's response to substance use disorders a growing crisis across the Eastern Mediterranean was also discussed.

Trachoma Elimination

Libya is the 28th country worldwide and the 8th in the Eastern Mediterranean Region to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem. This was achieved through sustained national mobilization and coordinated international support. I presented H.E. the Prime Minister with a commemorative shield on behalf of WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros. The milestone matters not only in itself, but as proof of what a functional national programme, backed by consistent partnership, can deliver including in a fragile context.

Cancer Care for Children in Misrata

Visits to the National Cancer Institute and the Paediatric Oncology Department at the National Cancer Institute in Misrata, including time with families of children undergoing treatment, made concrete the cost of gaps in specialized care. Access to oncology services remains inequitable and under-resourced. The families I met in Misrata made clear that this demands a concrete response.

Conclusion

The direction of reform in Libya is coherent, and the political will is real. Implementation capacity and financing remain the binding constraints but they are solvable ones. WHO EMRO's support through the Strategic Collaboration Framework, the three regional flagship initiatives on medicines access, health workforce, and substance use, and ongoing preparedness, response and humanitarian operations is built around exactly those gaps. I leave Libya encouraged, and committed.