Minister affirms Qatar's success in overcoming pandemic challenges

HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari affirmed Wednesday that Qatar, under the wise leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, has successfully faced the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and has one of the lowest mortality rates while keeping economic activities from the effects of the pandemic.
Speaking at the World Health Assembly held in Geneva, Dr al-Kuwari stressed Qatar's commitment to supporting the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its mission of promoting health and wellness for all people.
The minister thanked the WHO and the Member States of the Eastern Mediterranean Region for choosing Qatar to represent the Region in the Executive Board of the WHO.
"On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the WHO, we are celebrating 75 years of achievements and milestones in the field of public health and advances in key disciplines such as the eradication of smallpox, the development of vaccines and the promotion of public health initiatives globally. We also celebrate our gathering, our solidarity, our consensus and the strategic role we all play through WHO in managing global health," she said.
Dr al-Kuwari added: "We are also celebrating the end of the Covid-19 pandemic as a public health emergency that has raised global concern, recognising that we have all passed a very difficult period where the global health community has had to face unprecedented global challenges with the Covid-19 pandemic and its impacts, which have placed enormous burdens on populations and health systems around the world."
She expressed her appreciation and gratitude to all healthcare and public health workers in our countries, at the WHO and all partner institutions for their dedication and great services, especially in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The Qatar National Vision 2030's focus on health and well-being has led to significant investments in health. All of Qatar's municipalities have been awarded the title of Healthy Cities in addition to Qatar Foundation's Education City and Qatar University, making Qatar the first country in the world to receive such title," she added.
Dr al-Kuwari said: "We are investing in healthcare workforce development specialties networks and protecting the healthcare professionals. We are committed to contribute from our side to the Sustainable Development Goals such as ending Tuberculosis by 2030, eliminating maternal to child transmission of HIV and Hepatitis, combating Antimicrobial Resistance, and expanding on multisectoral collaboration as well as bringing additional innovative approaches and technologies to healthcare."
She noted that Qatar delivered during the pandemic a healthy, safe and successful FIFA World Cup tournament with no smoking and no alcohol in its stadiums, and that the country strengthened preparedness and response and organised health services in such a way to accommodate all visitors and players needs and ensure access to services to all of the population. She stressed that Qatar is committed to enhancing the role of the health sector in climate action, taking stock and moving forward as a positively engaged sector.
"We are implementing a Sport for Health project at a national and global level with WHO to promote healthy lifestyles, enhance physical activity, healthy nutrition, and access to mental health services. Building a legacy of knowledge and learning for safe and healthy mass sports gatherings with best practices and innovations will be part of the projects objectives to benefit other countries that are planning to host similar events in the future," Dr al-Kuwari added.
The minister pointed out that Qatar has recently hosted the 5th meeting of the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in March and HH the Amir has committed $60mn funding for the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action, which is a ten-year plan to tap into the potential of the LDCs by implementing renewed and strengthened commitments between the LDCs and their development partners, including the private sector, civil society, and governments at all levels.
She said: "We all want a strong WHO as we embark on the post pandemic phase, enhancing our cooperation and solidarity for a better prepared world especially as we assess the impact of crises, whether they be natural disasters or wars and conflicts threatening health gains and progress everywhere. We are working against the clock on many of our commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals and to the future generations, especially as we face the havoc created by conflict and violence in many parts of the world. For the health and wellbeing of all, we need to work together toward universal health access and peace."
It is worth mentioning that the meeting’s agenda of the 76th session of the World Health Assembly continues in Geneva, Switzerland, from 21 to 30 May. The key theme of this year's meetings is "75 years of improving public health". The Assembly will discuss several key topics themes under WHO's four pillars: One billion more people benefiting from universal health coverage, one billion more people better protected from health emergencies, one billion more people enjoying better health and well-being and more effective and efficient WHO providing better support to countries.