His Excellency the Minister of Health of the Sultanate of Oman and Chairman of the Omani delegation to the 78th Conference of the GCC Health Ministers Council's 40th session, Dr. Ahmad bin Muhammad Obaid Al Saidi, said that the Omani delegation extends thanks and gratitude to His Excellency the Saudi Minister of Health, Mr. Ahmad Al-Khateeb, for the hosting of the Conference and warm hospitality "offered by our Saudi brothers". It is worth mentioning that the two-day conference begins tomorrow, Wednesday.
He went on saying, "The GCC states and their partners, who worked hard with continuous support and commitment, were able to carry out many programs and initiatives aiming at maintaining public health. This conference came amid many changes at the health level as several health issues emerged at the top of priorities making us more determined than anytime before to maintain health of our community."
Dr. Al Saidi added, "There are a number of issues in need of additional efforts in view of the sharp acceleration in the pace of the demographic changes witnessed by the health system in our countries, as a result of increased life expectancy of population, the growing numbers of the elderly, in addition to emergence of urban features accompanied by social and economic transformations and radical changes in the epidemiological profile of diseases, the matter which imposes a burden on individuals, families and communities."
"One of the big challenges we are facing is to achieve compatibility between the health development requirements and increased expenditure on them, a matter prompting us to develop national policies and strategies for the GCC states, which are non-typical to finance health projects," he said.
"We - in the Sultanate of Oman - are aware of the importance of the planning process and absolutely keen to review and assess the health services we are providing and deal with the challenges we are facing with the aim of providing high quality health services, which meet the aspirations and ambitions of the citizens and residents alike in our country, out of the fact that strengthening the health systems and making them more consistent is one of the key strategies to promote the overall health development," Dr. Al Saidi said.
He went on to say that it is a must for any developmental process, how successful it is, to be put on hold for evaluation to show its points of strength and weakness and make us able to correct the tracks.
"Therefore, the proper planning, which is based on scientific grounds, is the proper way which draws a road map for any society in order to face the challenges and reach the projected goals. As a result, the Sultanate of Oman has developed an outlook for its health system until 2050 to set a road map about what should be done every year until this date, hoping to be a new addition to the health system in the GCC states due to the similarity of the health system between Oman and the six-member body," he noted, adding that this comes as part of joint cooperation among the GCC countries.
The Omani minister pointed out that the holding of the conference came to emphasize the GCC states' continuous interest in discussing the health data, exchanging expertise and information among the GCC health ministries to benefit from them and providing high-class health services on a continuous basis.
He concluded his statement by wishing that the conference will achieve its intended purpose and come out with sound decisions that serve all topics on the agenda. He extended his great thanks and appreciation to the staff of the Executive Board of the GCC Health Ministers Council and the Saudi Ministry of Health for the efforts they exerted for making the conference successful.
Dr. Al Saidi prayed for Allah, the Almighty, to help all Gulf citizens to serve their beloved countries and promote them.