Arab Health Ministers Council Asks Syrian Regime to Allow Entry of Humanitarian Assistance

Amman, March 15 (QNA) - Concluding its 37th session here on Friday, the Council of Arab Health Ministers has asked the Syrian government to allow humanitarian aid into the country in implementation of the council resolution dedicating a half million US Dollars available at the Arab fund for health development to provide urgent medical equipment and medicines to the Syrian people. HE Qatar's Minister of Public Health Dr. Abdullah Bin Khalid Al-Qahtani who is also Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) led his country's delegation to the two-day meeting. The council also decided to offer a half million US Dollars. to the health sector in Yemen and US DLRS.200, 000 to the Palestinian health sector plus a material and technical support . The Executive Board of the Arab Health Ministers Council, GCC Health Ministers Executive Board and the Jordanian Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers are also taking part in the Amman meeting together with delegates from Bahrain, Oman, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Palestine, Qatar, and UAE, Kuwait the Republic of Comoros, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Iraq. Jordanian Prime Minister Awn Al-Khasawneh said in his opening address today that Jordan gives great attention to improving the quality of health service for citizens and called for close cooperation among Arab health ministries. In an opening speech, Wreikat stressed the importance of closer pan-Arab health, saying that the growing demand for health care services needs constant modernization and development. The participants reviewed their ministries activities and relations with international organizations, especially the World Health Organization (WHO). They also discussed a variety of topics inter-alia collective Arab efforts to combat AIDS, the role of the Arab health efficient cadres for boosting the health sector in the Arab countries in addition to discussing the strategic plan for updating and developing the primary healthcare and the family medicine in the Arab countries. Standardization of the health legislations in the Arab world and boosting nursing services, blood transfusion, midwifery and Arab integration in medicines, were also taken up in addition to the effective preparation for the 3rd session of the Arab development, social, and economic summit due to open in Riyadh in January 2013 and the concerted speech of the said council before the 65th session of the WHO General Assembly slated for next May. (QNA)