Muscat, Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Sa’eedi, Minister of Health today took part via video conferencing in the official launching of the Regional Professional Diploma (RPD) in Family Medicine.

The RPD, which is being implemented by the Arab Board of Health Specializations, is adopted and supported by the Regional Office of World Health Organization (WHO) for the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Dr. Ahmed Al Sa’eedi gave a speech in which he said “Placing family physicians at the forefront of our primary healthcare facilities has yielded great results, as the Sultanate of Oman’s health care services witnessed significant developments at all levels and aspects across the country”.

He pointed out that the government has built a robust health system with an emphasis on primary health care in collaboration and partnership with the WHO.

Dr. Al Sa’eedi also added that the Primary Health Care (PHC) program and family physicians’ efforts aligns with Oman’s goal in ensuring that basic health care services are provided according to the WHO targets.

He further added, “Although the rate of all doctors to population is 19.7 per 1,000, the rate of family physicians is 0.6 per 10,000 of the population. We aim to ensure that the proportion of all medical specialties including family physicians will be according to the global standards to ensure the best health care quality services are provided for those living in Oman.

The goal of developing this Diploma is to bridge the extreme shortage in the number of family physicians in the Region and Arab countries, as well as pursuing to achieve the goal of having (3) family physicians per 10,000 of the population by 2030.

Source: Oman News Agency