About WHO in Cyprus

World Health Organization (WHO)

WHO was founded in 1948 to work for the attainment of the highest possible level of health by all peoples. WHO works with 194 Member States, providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, and articulating evidence-based policy options. It also provides technical support to Member States, monitors and assesses health trends, funds medical research and provides emergency aid during disasters. Through its programmes, WHO also works to improve nutrition, housing, sanitation and working conditions around the world. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and has six regional offices around the world.

The European Region (WHO/Europe)

WHO/Europe is one of WHO’s six regional offices around the world. It serves the WHO European Region, which comprises 53 countries, covering a vast geographical region from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. WHO/Europe staff are public health, scientific and technical experts, based in the main office in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 7 technical centres and in country offices in 32 Member States. In addition, WHO/Europe coordinates with the European Union and its agencies, and is host organization and partner of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.

WHO Country Office in Cyprus

The role of a WHO country office is to respond to requests from the host country to support policy-making for sustainable health development, taking a holistic health-system approach. This includes providing guidance, building up local relationships to implement technical cooperation, making standards and agreements, and ensuring that public health measures are coordinated and in place during crises.

Since its establishment in 2023 through a donor agreement with the Government of Cyprus, the WHO Country Office in Cyprus has been facilitating WHO activities in the country. The Office is in Nicosia, the capital and was officially inaugurated in the presence of the WHO Regional Director for Europe, Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge and the Minister of Health for Cyprus, Neophytos Charalambides, on 28 January 2026. The operational objective of the Office is to provide technical expertise and professional support to the Cypriot Ministry of Health. The Office is led by Dr Irshad Shaikh, Special Representative and Head of the Country Office in Cyprus.

Cyprus plays a unique regional and interregional role. It is a strategic crossroads between the WHO European and Eastern Mediterranean regions and a global hub for travel, tourism and migration. The country offers a platform for strengthening One Health and cross-border health security, through joint preparedness exercises, surveillance systems and information management across the two regions. Thus, the Office is uniquely positioned to serve as an emerging “Next Gen” model across the WHO European Region, with intra-border as well as cross-border focus.

The Office supports Cyprus in advancing health through:

• Advancing WHO’s global and regional health agendas. WHO and Cyprus commit to advancing key global and regional health frameworks, including: WHO’s General Programme of Work and the second European Programme of Work, and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. This includes supporting universal health coverage, strong and resilient health systems, and the “leaving no one behind” equity principle.
• Strengthening partnerships and interregional health cooperation. A central pillar of the donor agreement is enhancing Cyprus’ role as a regional connector and catalyst for health collaboration. Cyprus’s location at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East and Africa provides a unique platform to promote interregional health security and shared learning.
• Strengthening the International Health Regulations (2005) core capacities and health security. This aims to reinforce Cyprus as a bellwether Member State for epidemic and pandemic prevention and preparedness.
• Advancing digital health, intelligence, research and predictive analytics. To support data-driven health action, the Office will help develop: health information management systems, digital health innovation, predictive analytics and early health intelligence, applied research, and knowledge generation.

Through these and other areas of collaboration, the Office supports Cyprus in building a resilient, people-centred health system aligned with WHO’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work and second European Programme of Work, and national health priorities.

Small countries initiative

The Small Countries Initiative was established in 2013 at an informal meeting held during the 63rd session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe in Çeşme Izmir, Turkey. The Initiative has since grown into a network of 11 Member States in the WHO European Region with populations of 2 million or less.

The countries participating in the Initiative are Andorra, Cyprus, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino and Slovenia. Throughout the years, the Initiative has acted as a laboratory for innovation and a collaborative platform through which members can address issues unique to small countries; for example, these might relate to social, environmental and economic contexts, or health-related needs and vulnerabilities.