In recent years, countries of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region have made significant achievements in the provision of health services. In the pharmaceutical field, countries have been striving to improve the structures and regulations pertaining to medicines and have progressed in many ways. However, there are still important challenges. The goal of the WHO Good Governance for Medicines programme is to improve the situation of medicines regulation and supply. National transparency assessment is the beginning of a process aimed at bringing about desirable and sustainable changes in the governance of the pharmaceutical sector. These reports present the findings of the first phase of the national Good Governance for Medicines programme in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan and Syrian Arab Republic.