Qatar Joins IARC

Doha, June 03 (QNA) - The State of Qatar has Joined the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), to become its first Participating State in the Gulf region. Dr. Faleh Mohamed Hussein Ali, Assistant Secretary General for Policy Affairs at the Supreme Council of Health (SCH), said that Qatar's accession to IARC reflects the considerable efforts made at the national level in the fight against cancer and the advanced research in this area. During his participation in a meeting of the IARC board of directors in Lyon, France, Dr. Hussein said Qatar's membership in the Agency will contribute to supporting the national strategy to combat cancer and benefitting from the IARC expertise in important science areas such as the carcinogens. He pointed out that the IARC experts are currently conducting a research on the Environmental Exposure to Carcinogens in collaboration with the interior and environment ministries and Qatar Petroleum. In the same context, Dr. Al-Harith Mohamed Al-Khater, Medical Director of Hamad Mecial Corporation's Medical Research Centre has been nominated by the State of Qatar to become a member of IARC's Scientific Board. Qatar's accession to the IARC, which was founded in 1965, increased the number of its members to 24 countries. (QNA)