Numerous health development plans in progress in Kuwait

Kuwait is implementing several health development programs it was keen to review, with the purpose of sharing expertise, at the 60th Session of the Regional Committee for the East Mediterranean of the World Health Organization (WHO) hosted here on Monday. Issues given priority at the ministry at present include the challenge of preventing and curbing the spread of non-contagious diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cancers, and chronic respiratory diseases, Health Undersecretary Dr. Khalid Al-Sahlawi said in remarks to KUNA on Monday. The ministry is also giving high priority to programs addressing factors connected to such diseases including smoking, poor diet, obesity, and environmental pollution. The official said the state assigned all due priority to prevention since adopting the UN Political Declaration of the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases. A corresponding item was included in the government's working program, he added. The ministry is coordinating and cooperating with other ministries and state bodies as well as civil community organizations to draft a comprehensive national program on prevention, to be implemented with help of efforts to increase awareness on healthy life styles and attitudes, alongside the upgrade of health policies and strategies and more care to implementing early health checks, screenings, and detection programs. Listing some recent initiatives, Al-Sahlawi said the ministry had expanded clinics providing care for chronic conditions and introduced latest diagnostics and medications, in addition to providing continued education programs for doctors in all specialties. There are ambitious plans on injuries and traumas resulting from accidents and plans to support and strengthen the ambulance and medical emergencies departments as well as plans to organize training courses for the public on First Aid and life saving techniques and maneuvers. The ministry is also committed to the constant improvement of the health system, as health is fully recognized as a key stone in sustainable development, he stressed. The state is keen on the exchange of expertise and interaction with specialists from other countries and at the WHO. Al-Sahlawi also noted there is particular interest in cooperation to build on the progress achieved to date in the areas of reducing child mortality rates, reducing deaths at childbirth, curbing the spread of AIDS and TB, and providing comprehensive health care. The undersecretary remarked that Kuwait is making big strides in implementation of the international health guidelines and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and is in constant contact with the organization regarding procedural matters and participates in all meetings and conferences. Al-Sahlawi saw it fit to recall the great support by the state to research and studies in the area of countering non-communicative diseases, with many awards allocated to encourage and shed light on unique work and contributions under the umbrella of the WHO, such as the award established in 2003 for distinguished research and initiatives in this field. On the ongoing session here, the undersecretary pointed out that the summiteers are to look into and consider possibly better means to channel financing into investments in effective interventions and new technologies, made possible through a fully integrated health system with sufficient numbers of sufficiently qualified health workers. The session, he said, also looks into several reports on specific phases of previously initiated programs and plans and on progress related to the millennium goals.