WFSA’s delegation, led by Prof. Patricia Yazbeck (Lebanon) and Major General Dr. Nabil El Askalany (Egypt), delivered written statements to the 72nd Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean, held from 15–17 October 2025.
Agenda item 5b: Health systems recovery in fragile and conflict-affected situations
The World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists represents over 500,000 anaesthesiologists in 150 countries, including 14 national member societies in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Anaesthesia and surgical care are essential for any resilient health system. They are critical to delivering emergency, obstetric, trauma, and critical care services — all of which are indispensable during and after crises. Yet, across this region, conflict and instability have severely disrupted surgical capacity. Hospitals have been damaged, supply chains broken, and health workers displaced or overstretched. Anaesthesiologists play a leading role in disaster and emergency response, bringing expertise in critical care, pain management, and peri- and post-operative care that is essential to saving lives in these challenging environments.
As countries work toward recovery, WFSA emphasises the need to:
- Invest in and protect the surgical and anaesthesia workforce, ensuring their education, retention, security, and wellbeing, particularly in conflict zones.
- Recognise and utilise the leadership and expertise of anaesthesiologists in disaster and emergency response, where their multidisciplinary skills are vital to coordinated, effective care.
- Integrate essential surgery and anaesthesia into national recovery and preparedness plans, with reliable access to safe medicines, equipment, and oxygen.
WFSA stands ready to work with WHO, Member States, and regional partners to rebuild stronger, more resilient surgical and anaesthesia systems. Together, we can ensure that even in times of crisis, every patient has access to safe anaesthesia and surgical care when it is needed most.
Item 5(e) – Developing a regional operational framework for climate change and health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
I would also like to wish everyone a happy World Anaesthesia Day. On this day 178 years ago, the first public demonstration of ether anaesthesia took place — a landmark in medical history that transformed surgery and patient care. Yet the use of anaesthetic gases since that time has also carried environmental costs, as many inhaled agents are potent greenhouse gases. World Anaesthesia Day is therefore not only a moment to celebrate advances in patient safety but also a call to action: to build health systems that are safe, resilient, and environmentally sustainable.
Anaesthesiologists are central to this effort. We provide life-saving care during climate-related health emergencies while also leading initiatives to reduce healthcare emissions. Anaesthetic drugs and procedures are recognised contributors to greenhouse gases and medical waste, and our profession has responded with concrete action. These include phasing out desflurane and piped nitrous oxide, expanding regional and intravenous techniques, improving waste reduction and recycling, and increasing energy efficiency in operating theatres.
As frontline clinicians and leaders in sustainability, anaesthesiologists are uniquely positioned to guide the transition to climate-smart health systems. WFSA is an active member of the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH) and stands ready to support Member States in scaling up climate-smart emergency, critical and operative care — ensuring patient safety and environmental stewardship advance together.
