Access to essential medicines is an element of the international agreements on the human right to health. This review summarizes the current situation concerning access to medicines in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) by examining the policies, constitutional provisions and other legal instruments of the Member States. The constitutions of 18 out of 22 EMR countries enshrine health as a h...

This cross-sectional survey aimed to provide an overview of tobacco control strategies in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). A questionnaire to collate data on implementation of 6 major policies was developed based on the previously published Tobacco Control Scale and using MPOWER measures of the WHO Tobacco Free Initiative and the Tobacco Atlas. Only 3 of the 21 countries...

Yes, cardiovascular disease remains the primary cause of mortality worldwide. But the situation has dramatically changed for the better in recent decades, with a major decrease beginning with Western countries and now reaching Eastern European countries as well. The general trend to decreased cardiovascular mortality is observed both in countries having initially a high cardiovascular disease b...

The presence of two species within the Eurythoe complanata complex in the Mediterranean Sea is reported, as well as their geographical distributions. One species, Eurythoe laevisetis, occurs in the eastern and central Mediterranean, likely constituting the first historical introduction to the Mediterranean Sea and the other, Eurythoe complanata, in both eastern and Levantine basins. Brief notes...

Interest in Mediterranean diet began 30 years ago, when Ancel Keys published the results of the famous Seven Countries Study, Since 1945, almost 1.3 million people have come to Australia from Mediterranean countries as new settlers. There are 18 countries with coasts on the Mediterranean sea: Spain, southern France, Italy, Malta, Croatia, Bosnia, Albania, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon,...

OBJECTIVE As a qualitative problem solving method, to manage the accelerating phenomenon of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents as well as to promote the Mediterranean Diet and the diversity of the Mediterranean Food Cultures heritage, it is presented a creative interdisciplinary approach through art. DESIGN Taking into account that young generations are becoming the highest...

OBJECTIVE To appraise the process of development and clinical content of national human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) clinical practice guidelines of countries in the eastern Mediterranean and to formulate recommendations for future guideline development and adaptation. METHODS Twenty-three countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean and United Nations Children's Fun...