Dr. Alaa Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean said that the accumulated experiences and the calculated scientific measures learned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) from direct contact and dealing with Guests of God and pilgrimages qualified the Kingdom to be a pioneer and leader of Crowd Medicine Science and an important reference in this field professionally and internationally.
The Regional Director for the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Office praised the efforts and steps taken by employees of the Ministry of Health in the field of fighting communicable and non-communicable diseases alike. In the inauguration of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Office meeting at the WHO headquarter in Geneva, Dr. Alwan stressed the importance of the International Conference of Healthy Life Patterns and Non-Communicable Diseases in the Arab World, hosted and sponsored by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Riyadh during 23-25 Shawall 1433 H (Corresponding to 10-12 September 2012).
"The region is entering a systematic transition phase with regard to the quality of technical support providedto the member states. The regional office has been ableover the past months to draw the map for the health future in the Eastern Mediterranean Region," Dr. Alaa Alwan, the Regional Director, stated. "The delegations have approved in their annual meeting the new vision and mission of the Eastern Mediterranean Region as well as the strategic directions of the upcoming phase between 2012-2016."
The WHO will endeavor to support the member states to improve health in the region with five strategies as top priorities.
The first strategy revolves around the main elements to boost the health systems by building the national capacities of health governance, devising plans, national health strategies, health finance, health information systems, research and development, workforce planning and distribution, and improving access to technology and basic utilities.
To ensureuniversal coverage withevidence-supported interventions aimed at reducingmortality ratesamong mothersand infants, the second strategy focuses on improving maternal and child health, reproductive health, and nutrition.
The third strategy is concerned with the prevention, control and fighting of the growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases in the region such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, strokes, chronic respiratory diseases, and cancer. The third strategy also deals with monitoring non-communicablediseases; providing an essential packageofbasic health care servicesespecially at theprimary health care leveland establishing a network ofinternationaland regionalexpertsto be appointedto serve as temporary advisersfor the countries in strengthening their national programs and initiatives.
The fourth strategy centers on attaining the MillenniumDevelopment Goals regarding communicable diseases, maximizing the national capacities of preventing and fighting communicable diseases through a consistent policies package that include technical support, vaccination programs, public-private partnerships, health outreach programs, and building the national capacities.
Finally, the fifth strategy revolves around increasing the capacity of the member states to respond to emergencies, disasters and other crises. Countries can ensure having an effective response to public health risks and threats by providing assistance to countries to formulate clear policies and regulations that take into account all potential hazards and risks to promote self-reliance in the implementation of a systematic approach to managing and handling emergency events.