MUSCAT: Based on the interest of the Gulf Health Council to strengthen the bonds of cooperation and awareness among the various media agencies in the GCC countries, the Council held a meeting here on Wednesday and reviewed its plans and programmes with media agencies and institutions in the Sultanate of Oman.
The meeting aimed to highlight the efforts of the Council at the regional and international levels, introduce its initiatives and projects and to set up a mechanism for coordination and media publishing in various channels.
The meeting also touched upon GCC efforts and initiatives in the health media field, as well as strengthening media coordination between the Council, the Ministry of Health and media agencies in the Sultanate of Oman.
Said bin Juma al Busaidi, Director of Corporate Communications Department at the GCC Health Council, said that the council’s vision is to advance and upgrade the health sector in member states. This can be achieved, he added, by launching constructive initiatives, responding to regional and global health issues, supporting decision-making and health policies and coordinating the joint GCC action in a bid to enhance cooperation and integration in the health field.
He also said, “The unified purchase agreement for medicines and devices may not include all medicines and devices for all the GCC countries due to the different needs of each country and the presence of internal tenders that are not counted.” Tenders are also issued every three months in order to support the localisation of the pharmaceutical industry in Gulf countries.
He mentioned that the health examination of expatriates covers 23 countries, which limits the entry of inappropriate cases to the GCC countries and ensures the health and fitness of workers to work in the GCC countries.
The Gulf Health Council is a specialised Gulf health organisation headquartered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It aims to boost cooperation and coordination among member states, spread health awareness among citizens, and define concepts of health and scientific issues.
It also seeks to benefit from global experiences, strengthen cooperation with Arab, regional and international organisations, raise the capabilities of national medical cadres in member states and conduct joint health research.
