Category: Medical/Health Care

The Minister of Health, Saleh Al-Hasnawi, met with the Governor of Nineveh, Najm Abdullah Al-Jubouri, today, Wednesday, at the head of a high-level delegation in the presence of the Prime Minister’s Advisor for Health Affairs, Saleh Damad.

The Minister of Health and the Governor of Nineveh attended a mass held in Al-Hamdaniyah District for the souls of the victims of the wedding hall fire tragedy.

During the meeting, the Minister of Health discussed the health status of the injured and their treatment in health institutions, stressing that “all cases were treated within health institutions in Nineveh, with the exception of 35 cases who were transferred to receive treatment in health institutions in Erbil and Dohuk governorates, and there is no case so far that required transfer outside Iraq.”

He added, “The Ministry and all its departments are on full alert to provide all needs and have secured large reserve quantities of medicines, medical supplies, and specialized teams for Nineveh health.”

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced this evening that 11 citizens were injured in the eastern Gaza Strip, following renewed confrontations between young men and the occupation forces near the separation fence.

In the same context, occupation aircraft bombed five resistance observatories on the eastern border of the Gaza Strip, targeting two resistance observatories with three missiles east of the city of Rafah. No casualties were reported, and two other observatories were located in the “Malaka” areas, east of the Gaza Strip, and east of the city of Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip, while a drone targeted a fifth observatory east of the Al-Shuja’iya neighborhood in the east.

Earlier today, dozens of Palestinian youth demonstrated for the tenth day in a row near the separation fence.

Local sources reported that dozens of young Palestinians lit used rubber tires, raised the Palestinian flag on the separation fence, and threw sound bombs.

On the other hand, the occupation forces deployed along the border areas east of the Gaza Strip fired heavy tear gas canisters to suppress the demonstrators in an attempt to disperse

Source: Maan News Agency

Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar discussed with Minister for Health in Singapore Ong Ye Kung ways of supporting joint cooperation between the two countries in training doctors in different medical specialties and nurses along with education and family health.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the High-Level Segment of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly Meetings in New York city.

Spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Population Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said in press statements Saturday that the two ministers agreed on exchanging visits among the officials in the health sector to get acquainted with experiments of the two countries in the medical sphere.

The spokesman added the two sides agreed on laying down mechanisms for cooperation between the medical special centers and research and training institutes of the two health ministries in both countries.

The two countries have agreed on the need of cooperation in manufacturing vaccines, said Abdel Ghaffar.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Dr. Jaleela bint Al-Sayed Jawad Hassan, Minister of Health received Dr. Saad bin Saud Al Fuhaid, the newly appointed President of the Arabian Gulf University (AGU)

The minister congratulated the university president on his appointment, praising the university’s contribution as a long-standing academic and scientific institution that has contributed for decades to supplying the health sector with the competencies and outputs of distinguished medical personnel.

The meeting dicussed areas of enhancing cooperation and effective partnership between the Ministry of Health and the AGU in implementing training programmes and developing health sector enhancement plans.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

A 29 metric tonnes of health supplies arrived in Benghazi, Libya, from the WHO Global Logistics Hub in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

With enough supplies to reach almost 250,000 people with health aid, the shipment reflects an intensified emergency response to the unprecedented flooding in eastern Libya in the aftermath of Storm Daniel.

The supplies include essential medicines, trauma and emergency surgery supplies, and medical equipment. There are also body bags for the safe and dignified movement and burial of the deceased.

Storm Daniel’s impact was compounded by the collapse of two dams that led to the deaths of thousands of people in Derna.

More than 9000 people are still missing.

WHO teams are working with the Libyan Ministry of Health to track the dead and missing. Thus far, the bodies of 3958 people have been recovered and identified, and death certificates have been issued.

This number is projected to increase as more bodies are recovered by search and rescue teams.

“This is a disaster of epic proportions,” said Dr. Ahmed Zouiten, WHO Representative in Libya.

“We are saddened by the unspeakable loss of thousands of souls. Our thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones, as well as with all of the affected communities. We are committed to providing the necessary support to restore health services for the affected population in eastern Libya.”

The shipment will help replenish supplies in more than half of the health facilities in the affected areas, most of which are not functioning due to shortages of medicines and medical equipment.

The supplies will be given to hospitals and primary health care centres and will be crucial in restoring their functionality. The 29 metric tonnes (130 cubic metres) of supplies that arrived today are the second delivery made by WHO. A first delivery of 29 metric tonnes of urgent medical supplies came from WHO’s existing contingency stocks in Libya.

WHO is working closely with Libya’s Ministry of Health and the National Centre for Disease Control to identify and address the health needs of survivors and affected populations in temporary settlements and camps for displaced people.

WHO teams are active on the ground as part of an assessment mission led by the Ministry of Health, as well participating in assessment missions being conducted by UN agencies. This ongoing health assessment covers the Al Bayda, Al Marj and Shahat districts and other affected areas.

While this assessment continues, the current priorities are to restore functionality in hospitals and health centres, and to prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases. WHO will support the urgent delivery of health care through the provision of medical equipment, and essential medicines and supplies, including treatments for communicable and noncommunicable diseases, and surgical and anaesthesia supplies.

WHO’s response priorities over the coming weeks and months will include conducting in-depth health assessments, restoring the functionality of health facilities in affected areas, and establishing fixed and mobile health clinics as close as possible to affected populations.

WHO will further bolster access to health care by deploying international emergency medical teams to provide health services in remote and hard-to-reach areas.

Reinforcing disease surveillance and infectious disease control will be vital, especially for the estimated 35,000 who have been displaced by the crisis.

WHO will also work with local health authorities to provide overall coordination of the emergency health response.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Dr. Waleed Khalifa Al-Manae, Health Ministry’s Undersecretary, received Mansoor Mohammed Ali Al Juwaid, the Advisor at the UAE Embassy in Bahrain.

Dr. Al-Manae affirmed the depth of the long-standing Bahrain-UAE relations in all fields, particularly health.

The two sides discussed ways to expand the ongoing joint cooperation and partnership, in addition to exchanging expertise and experiences in the health sector between the two countries.

The undersecretary stressed the importance of broadening bilateral cooperation in the coming period to achieve common goals and interests.

Al-Juwaid expressed his deepest pride in the distinguished relations between the two countries, hailing the steady progress of bilateral ties across various development fields.

The Health Ministry’s Undersecretary appreciated the good efforts exerted by the Bahrain-UAE Joint Committee to achieve shared goals, wishing the advisor continued success in bolstering bilateral cooperation.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Dr. Shaikha Rana bint Isa bin Duaij Al Khalifa, Director General of the Institute for Public Administration (BIPA), received Dr. Tasneem Al Atatreh, representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Dr. Shaikha Rana affirmed BIPA’s keenness to strengthen cooperation with WHO to develop the health sector by improving the efficiency and quality of administrative competencies.

She noted that BIPA offers a number of training and advisory services after analysing the needs and requirements of a variety of administrative entities, as well as the current and future requirements to increase the level of administrative competencies across various sectors.

Dr. Shaikha Rana praised the WHO and Dr. Al Atatreh for their efforts to advance partnership, noting Bahrain’s pioneering steps in fighting COVID-19, which have been highly praised by international entities.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

The Independent Commission for Human Rights “Board of Grievances” followed with great concern the escalation steps that the Doctors Syndicate announced its intention to begin implementing today, September 12, according to a statement it issued yesterday, including “not all doctors, including managers, going to their workplaces at all times.” Ministry of Health facilities and hospitals, and the government must bear its responsibilities.” Which, if implemented, will lead to the cessation of government primary health care, from which hundreds of thousands of citizens benefit, and the violations it could lead to that affect the citizen’s right to the highest attainable level of health, especially for those with chronic diseases, and the rescheduling of surgical operations for patients. Already late, this increases their suffering and may worsen their health condition.

While the Commission affirms that the right to organize unions, peaceful assembly, organize strikes, express opinion, and other peaceful protest steps are among the basic rights stipulated in the Palestinian Basic Law, these rights must be exercised taking into account a number of other basic rights, especially The right of citizens to the highest attainable standard of health and their right to life. This has been confirmed by the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization that exercising the right to strike in the health sectors must not affect groups that need emergency health care and/or cannot be postponed, or lead to compromising the health and safety of citizens.

The Commission considered that the union dispute between the Doctors Syndicate on the one hand, and the government and the Allied Health Professions Syndicate on the other hand, must be resolved through dialogue, investigation and mediation committees, or through submitting complaints to the competent authorities.

Accordingly, the independent body demanded the following:

1. The necessity of opening a rapid, serious and real dialogue to resolve this union dispute in a way that preserves citizens’ health rights and dignity, and in a way that also ensures the necessary appreciation and respect for members of the Medical Syndicate and all workers in the health sector.

2. The need to expedite the completion of the implementation procedures for Decree Law No. 31/2018 regarding medical and health protection and safety, including special rules and regulations and medical protocols, and the formation of committees and the establishment of funds stipulated in the law.

The Authority expressed its readiness to foster and facilitate a constructive dialogue between the parties in order to come up with a balanced formula to resolve the dispute causing this strike, and to preserve health and union rights

Source: Maan News Agency

The Doctors Syndicate announced this evening that it would stop union procedures and return to work based on the results of the dialogue with the government.

The crisis between the Doctors Syndicate, the Laboratory Medicine Syndicate, and the Federation of Health Professions Syndicates reached; It peaked yesterday, Monday, after the two unions left in two press conferences.

This crisis began to escalate at the end of last August, after the Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, Osama Al-Najjar, accused doctors at Jenin Governmental Hospital of committing a medical error against nurse Sally Al-Bitar, who was injured by occupation bullets, which led to the removal of one of her kidneys

Source: Maan News Agency

Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health Dr. Elal Alawi announced the plan as she opened a training workshop on introducing the papilloma virus vaccine and preventing cancerous diseases associated with it.

Themed “Prevention of Cancers Associated with Human Papilloma Virus,” the workshop reflects commitment to promoe disease prevention and the application of health strategies through the introduction of new and safe vaccines”, she said.

She stressed Bahrain’s strides in combating infectious diseases and controlling pandemics by introducing vaccines into the national immunization programme.

Indeed, the vaccine against smallpox was the first vaccine to be introduced in Bahrain in 1940. Then other vaccines were introduced to prevent diseases that could be avoided by vaccination of the target groups.

Bahrain has also recorded a success story that represented a role model and was praised by the World Health Organization while addressing the Covid-19 pandemic through the use of various vaccines.

Dr. Ijlal Al-Alawi stressed Bahrain’s commitment to implementing health strategies, developing and following up the progress of action plans and indicators of local programs, and strengthening the national capacity through integration between all levels of health care.

Source: Bahrain News Agency