Promoting family practice-based model of care: the role of WHO's professional diploma in family medicine in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Strengthening Primary Health Care (PHC) through family practice-based model of care is an essential bedrock in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), as called for in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, target 3.8. However, the shortage of family practitioners worldwide and in most countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) is a daunting challenge. The current production rate of family physicians in the EMR is around 700 annually, against the needed estimate of 21 000 physicians per year based on one family physician/1300 population and the current EMR population growth rate, which reflects the huge shortage of family physicians in the Region.