MoPH organises workshops on Qatar’s vector management

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), organised two workshops, one on Qatar’s National Integrated Vector Management Plan, and the other on Integrated Vector Management and Pesticide Management.The workshops were attended by 160 participants, including liaison officers and representatives from relevant health authorities across both public and private health sectors, as well as other ministries concerned.The workshops featured a series of lectures delivered by three consultants from the visiting WHO team. These sessions aimed to raise awareness of Qatar’s updated National Integrated Vector Management Plan, which is based on several key pillars: evidence-based decision-making, an integrated approach, awareness, social mobilisation and necessary legislation, enhancing multisectoral collaboration and capacity building.During the workshops, Qatar’s updated National Integrated Vector Management Plan was reviewed, with discussions highlighting the need for community engagement in disease vector control efforts. Policy guidelines, tools, and areas for monitoring pesticide resistance and management were also updated. The current malaria situation in the Eastern Mediterranean region was also discussed, alongside the growing challenges posed by vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. The workshops also explored initiatives to reinforce capacity building in integrated vector management and pesticide management, along with updating methods for managing vectors effectively.This included enhancing the medical workforce’s capacity in investigation, surveillance, response and vector management. Training was provided to medical staff across public and private health sectors, as well as other relevant ministries, in accordance with WHO guidelines.Director of Health Protection and Communicable Disease Control at the MoPH Dr Hamad al-Romaihi stressed the importance of developing and implementing Qatar’s National Integrated Vector Management Plan to reduce the spread of vector-borne diseases on both a global and regional scale. He noted that various factors, such as climate change, increased humidity, rainfall create optimal conditions for the proliferation of disease-carrying vectors.At the conclusion of the workshops, practical recommendations were made to enhance multisectoral collaboration, expand efforts to combat and prevent vector-borne diseases, reduce their spread within the country, and ensure the implementation of Qatar’s updated National Integrated Vector Management Plan.