Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 7th May, 2014
His Excellency Eng. Adel bin Mohamed Fakieh, the Health Minister in charge, today launched a public awareness campaign to combat the MERS Corona virus. The campaign seeks to empower the public with crucial up to date information required to play their part in combatting the virus.
Launched in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO), the campaign encourages the public to take precautions against the spread of the virus.
Rolled out over the coming weeks and promoted via different communications channels, such as videos and infographics at
www.moh.gov.sa, the campaign encourages people to:
- Exercise good personal hygiene: Wash hands often with soap and water and hand sanitizers; avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, and;
- Take extra precautions with raw camel meat: Based on expert advice, avoid raw camel meat and liver and unpasteurized camel milk; as well as avoiding sick camels. Also based on current medical advice, it is ok to consume cooked camel meat.
His Excellency Eng. Adel bin Mohamed Fakeih said: “The Government is doing all it can to prevent the spread of the MERS Corona virus. Now we need the help of the public in implementing simple precautions that can assist in preventing the spread of the virus.”
“This campaign is based on expert medical advice from respected organizations and healthcare professionals. We would like to thank them for their important contribution during its development,” he added.
Last week local and international public health and medical experts met in Riyadh to discuss strategies to combat the MERS Corona Virus. The two-day conference focused on analysing the situation in the Kingdom, and developing potential solutions to address the threat to public health. Following the meeting, the government accepted the recommendations of the participants, which forms the basis of the public awareness campaign.
Dr. Prof. Tariq Ahmed Madani, an expert advisor to the Ministry of Health said: “An awareness campaign is an integral part of reaching and communicating with the public. By following these simple, but effective, recommendations, the public can join us in tackling this issue together.
“The Medical Council the Ministry of Health convened are currently reviewing all the policies and research that can assist in dealing with the virus and ways of diagnosing it” added Dr Madani.
This campaign is part of an overall strategy the government has adopted to address the public health challenge presented by the MERS Corona Virus. Other actions to date include:
- Working with medical experts to find the best possible solution to stop the spread of the virus, including setting up an independent advisory board;
- Designating major hospitals in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam as specialist centres on MERS.