WHO Eastern Mediterranean Launches AI Community of Practice for Disaster and Emergency Response

The World Health Organization's Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) established a new AI Community of Practice on April 16, focused on strengthening capacity for artificial intelligence applications in disaster and emergency response surveillance. The collaborative platform, hosted via WHO Collaboratory, brings together national health authorities, academic researchers, and humanitarian partners from 21 EMRO member states — spanning North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia — to share knowledge, training modules, and implementation guidance on responsible AI deployment during health emergencies and disasters. The initiative provides structured peer learning on use cases including AI-powered epidemiological surveillance during acute crises, satellite-based damage assessment, and AI-assisted coordination of medical response. For a region that faces frequent conflicts, earthquakes, floods, and disease outbreaks, strengthening national AI emergency response capacity addresses critical gaps in humanitarian preparedness — particularly relevant given complex emergencies in Yemen, Gaza, Sudan, and Syria affecting tens of millions of people.