In Riyadh, yesterday morning, on behalf of his Excellency the Acting Minister of Health, Eng. Adel Faqih, his Excellency the Deputy Minister for Health Affairs, Dr. Mansour bin Nasser Alhowasi kicked off the scientific meeting, organized by the Ministry of Health (MOH), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, on the role of the health affairs directorates in educating on the Middle East respiratory syndrome CoronaVirus (MERS CoV). This meeting aims to educate the community and familiarize with the ways of preventing from picking up this virus.
During the opening ceremony, he said "this country has been endowed with rulers working around the clock to elevate this country and its citizens, especially in the health field."
Meanwhile, he urged the health education officials and the official spokespersons of the health affairs directorates on intensifying the efforts and educating the community on the MERS CoV . He also called on the participants: health education officials, official spokesperson of the health affairs directorates, and the school health directors of the education departments to come out with scientific results and mechanisms to provide the community with science-based education, and to release the meaningful messages in which the efforts of the concerned are joined in all their fields.
With the same vein, Dr. Alhowasi shed light on the role assumed by the World Health Organization (WHO)
in enhancing the education to that effect, and the exchanging expertise between it and the Kingdom represented by the MOH on the MERS CoV, as well as its contributing to the scientific program of the meeting.
For his part, the Minister of Health's advisor; and the Supervisor-General of the MOH Media, Health Awareness, and Relations Center, Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed Almarghlani, on speech gave on his behalf by the Assistant Deputy Minister for Health Awarness, Dr. Abdulrhman Alqahtani, said that this scientific meeting comes as an extension to the comprehensive national campaign mounted by the MOH; in order to hold back the spread of MERS CoV. It is a comprehensive, fully fledged campaign, and one of the hugest campaigns launched by the MOH. And, it receives unprecedented support from the MOH's senior officials.
He went on to add that this scientific meeting aims to provide updates on the latest scientific developments on the virus and ways of its transmission and prevention. Further, it attached significance to boosting the roles played by the health awareness sections and media departments in the health affairs directorates.
He also mentioned that as a positive step, this meeting will play a role in familiarizing with ways of planning and implementing the health awareness programs and media response during the public health emergency and crises.
Similarly, this meeting is considered an episode meant for putting into effect the communication with the health awareness officials in the regions and governorates, and encouraging cooperation with the other sectors, civil society institutions, and communal partnership, with the school health departments in the regions and governorates combined.
He went on to point out that this meeting targets the health awareness officials in the media and health awareness departments and media officials in the health affairs directorates, as well as the participation of the health awareness officials of the general health departments in the health affairs directorates and a number of the school health directors in the regions and governorates.
He added "with Allah's support, we hope that this meeting augurs well in terms of more meetings boosting the scientific knowledge and health practices regarding the health awareness at the level of the regions and governorates. We also hope that this meeting plays a pivotal role in activating the health awareness towards the MERS CoV in the regions and governorates, and in lending top priority, interest, and institutional methodology work to that effect."
On drawing his speech to a close, Dr. Almarghlani extended thanks and appreciation to whoever contributed to this meeting, spearheaded by the acting Minister of Health Eng. Adel Faqih who has not hesitated to approve holding the meeting and provide support for it. He also thanked Dr. Mansour Alhowasi for attending the opening ceremony. Similarly, he went on to pray Allah, the Almighty, to crown this meeting with success and bestow upon this country health and well-being.