GCC nations for joint action in health sector

Muscat: The opening program for the ninth meeting of the GCC Health Ministers Committee focussed on strengthening cooperation in the health sector to develop the provision of health services in a way that reflects excellence to keep pace with rapid progress in the field of technology (Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence), and joint work to develop the system of this vital sector in the Gulf region.

The event addressed several health issues and topics of mutual concern, including visa medical examination, follow-up of the implementation of International Health Regulations (IHR 2005), health cities, registration and classification of health specialties, in addition to the strategic dialogues among the council’s countries and the sisterly and friendly countries in the health, and the establishment of a Virtual Gulf Health Centre.

Speaking on the occasion,

Dr Hilal bin Ali al Sabti, Minister of Health, said that the meeting’s agenda addresses key topics that will achieve a positive impact on the decisions of the 36th session of the GCC Supreme Council held in Riyadh in December 2015 on promoting the integration of the Gulf joint action process.

Dr. Al Sabti added that the meeting’s agenda will put emphasis on the significance of seeking further integration in specialized services among the GCC countries.

The meeting, said the minister, will highlight the importance of activating telemedicine clinics among various specialties in GCC country's hospitals with rare specialties.

During the meeting, the Saudi Ministry of Health’s proposal on recognizing March 2 of every year as ‘World Health Martyr Day’ was reviewed.

On his turn, Jasem Mohamed al Budaiwi, GCC Secretary-General, said that data and statistics confirm the GCC’s commitment to health development issues, which marks their ability to achieve some of the objectives of the third goal of Sustainable Development Goals on ensuring healthy lives and well-being for everyone.

He affirmed that the GCC's efforts to achieve universal health coverage by providing health and human resources for the health systems have ensured people’s access to various levels of services.

The meeting discussed the Sultanate of Oman’s proposal on the specialized services integration among GCC countries that aims to benefit from Health Centres of Excellence and strengthen complementarity in specialized services among the GCC countries. With this, the GCC countries can access the services of any Gulf specialised centre at a lower cost than when seeking treatment abroad in non-Gulf countries while ensuring the quality of service.

The specialised centres include corneal transplantation/retina treatment centres, cochlear implantation centres, organ transfer and transplantation centres, joint replacement centres, cancer centres, diagnostic and therapeutic intervention centres (Intervention Medicine), spine centres, brain and nerve centres, cardiology centres, fertility centres, physical therapy and rehabilitation centres, public health laboratories/centres, national training centres for medical and allied medical categories (OMSB/Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, etc.), and toxicology centres.

The meeting of the GCC Health Ministers Committee approved the agenda of the meeting and endorsed number of draft resolutions submitted from Health Under-Secretaries Committee.

TELEMEDICINE

The meeting addressed the Sultanate of Oman’s proposal to activate telemedicine clinics for rare specialties among Gulf countries. The proposal aspires to create a joint electronic platform for all GCC countries on clinical consultancy so that rare specialties’ physicians can discuss and follow up on rare medical cases of various congenital anomalies in newborns and children, and types of cancers that are rare or unresponsive to treatment, and others.

Following the 9th Meeting of the GCC Health Ministers Committee, the 86th general conference of the GCC and Yemen Health Ministers Council in its 48th session was convened.

Suleiman Saleh al Dakheel, Director General of the Gulf Health Council, stated that the gathering comes at a time where magnificent developments in the health sector are evolving which entail joint work and persistent cooperation to address challenges and achieve success.

He stressed that the joint Gulf action in the health sector has always been of great benefit to the region. The official elaborated that the meeting is supporting the continuation of the cooperation, aiming at achieving the desired goals and boosting health services to meet the expectations and aspirations of the Gulf people.

MEDICAL TESTS

Regarding medical examination of expatriates coming to GCC, updates of the Rules and Regulations of Wafid medical test programme were approved. Moreover, the meeting endorsed the new codification of items system of the Gulf joint procurement program instead of the old codification. It was also decided, with regard to the registration of medical devices and supplies and manufacturing companies, to approve the Gulf regulations for the registration of medical devices and supplies.

Moreover, it was decided to approve the restructuring of the pay and benefits and develop the organisational structure and governance with an expert house.

With regard to central registration, it was decided to adopt the update of the change requests guidelines and approve the updated request form for canceling a centrally registered product.

Moreover, the conference endorsed a resolution on updating the inspection mechanism for the pharmaceutical and veterinary factories and products, as well as factories of medical supplies and devices. On medication pricing, it was decided to approve the updated price certificate form for the reference countries in the Health Council to be 18 countries.