5th International Primary Health Care Conference concludes

The 5th International Primary Health Care Conference (IPHCC), organized by the Primary Health Care Corp (PHCC), concluded Sunday. The four-day conference was held under the theme "Primary Care Today: Lessons Learnt, Future Action for Sustainability", in the presence of HE Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohammed al-Kuwari.The 5th IPHCC was attended by about 1,000 participants which included healthcare professionals, researchers, policymakers, influencers and those interested in the field, in addition to leading medical and academic institutions from all over the world. The participants discussed many of the topics that were presented through six workshops and thirty sessions to contribute to the exchange of experiences and best medical practices in this field.PHCC Managing Director and Chairperson of the IPHCC Organizing Committee Dr Mariam Abdul Malik said that in this current stage, nations are going through many environmental, development and health crises and challenges that caught the attention of many countries around the world and made them accelerate the adoption of sustainability standards to confront these challenges and ensure a better life for the people and future generations.In her speech during the conclusion of the 5th IPHCC, she noted the great efforts made by Qatar under its wise leadership, within the framework of the National Health Strategy and Qatar National Vision 2030, of investing in human beings to accomplish advancement and progress.Dr Abdul Malik said that they had to take the initiative to identify key points aimed at achieving what is aspired to. Influential policymakers, prominent researchers, professors, students and stakeholders from all over the world continue to hold their responsibilities. Through the IPHCC, they aim to achieve their desired goals. With the participation of an elite group of minds and expertise of nearly 1,000, they exchanged ideas and visions that encourage development in the field of primary health care.PHCC Managing Director reviewed the most prominent recommendations of the IPHCC; the need to enhance community participation and cooperation between different sectors, focus on self-care, protect evidence-based options for patients, ensure that infectious and non-communicable diseases are addressed, as well as highlight value-based health care and patient well-being.Recommendations also included enhancing co-operation and integration with partners from health care providers to implement the family medicine model, building employee capabilities and investing in public health, strengthening health care infrastructure, adopting artificial intelligence technologies for health care while considering the rules, balancing clinical practices and clinical guidelines based on local evidence to achieve the highest levels of health, in addition to the sustainability of research and follow-up to ensure the effectiveness of combating epidemics and diseases.Other recommendations included the importance of joint planning and exchanging experiences between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to build preventive public health programmes, strengthening partnerships between health care providers and academic institutions to support research and learning, cooperation and integration with social care bodies in addition to facilitating transfers between primary health care and institutions and associations specialised in addiction and violence as well as human rights of women and children.Vice-Chairperson of the Conference Organizing Committee Musallam Mubarak Al Nabit honoured the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), the Hamad Medical Corp (HMC) and Ooredoo, the sponsors of the 5th IPHCC.Chair of the Conference Scientific Committee Dr Zelaikha al-Wahedi honoured the top three winners of scientific research, while Chair of the Conference Logistics Committee Huda Mohsen al-Wahedi honoured the participants in the medical exhibition accompanying the IPHCC where the latest findings were presented by companies and factories of medicines, devices and medical equipment throughout the conference.