Salalah, Sayyid Asa’ad bin Tariq al-Said, Deputy
Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs,
Personal Representative of His Majesty the Sultan will patronise at the
Sultan Qaboos Youth Complex for Culture and Entertainment in
Salalah tomorrow (Monday) over the opening ceremony of the
Ministerial Regional Meeting “The Road to Universal Health Coverage
(UHC) in the Eastern-Mediterranean Region (EMR)”.
Dr. Ahmed al-Mandhari, WHO-EMR Regional Director, and Dr.
Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Sa’eedi, Minister of Health along with Dr.
Naoko Yamamoto, UHC Assistant Director-General and Health Systems
at the WHO will deliver the key speeches.
A video message of Dr. Tedros Adanom, WHO Director-General
will be displayed during the ceremony.
The Meeting will touch on the non-communicable diseases in
the context of Universal Health Coverage.
The Meeting is organised by the Regional Office of the World
Health Organization (WHO) for the Eastern Mediterranean, in
cooperation with the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Around (22) EMR countries represented by the ministers of
health, a number of high-level officials from the financial and
parliament sectors, consultants, advisors and experts, as well as
several national health institutions will take part in the Regional
Meeting.
The Ministerial Meeting is one of the important meetings at the
international level as it follows the WHO. The issues, which will be
discussed during the Meeting, are very important and related to the
Universal Health Coverage. The Meeting gathers senior health leaders,
policymakers, national health systems officials in the EMR countries
along with local, regional and international participants.
The Meeting aims to assess the regional situation and, share
successful international and regional experiences in advancement
towards UHC with regional leaders and policymakers responsible for
national health systems. The Meeting will draw upon the best global
practices and knowledge. It is hoped that a stronger commitment to
develop and implement roadmaps for tangibly advancing on UHC in
the region will be declared during the Meeting.
The Ministerial Meeting seeks to achieve several objectives that
include introduction to policymakers most up-to-date knowledge and
thinking on health systems, Universal Health Coverage and
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and sharing global best
practices in effectively advancing UHC through health system
strengthening.
The Meeting’s key expected results are signing the UHC2030
global compact by all WHO Member States in the Region, as well as
understanding the most up-to-date knowledge and thinking on health
systems, Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development
Goals.
The agenda of the Meeting contains a number of scientific
sessions, where the second day (Tuesday) will touch on the right to
health, human capabilities and health justice, macroeconomic policy
and health financing for achieving the UHC. Furthermore, it will discuss
defining and delivering the Universal Health Coverage priority benefit
package, addressing the health services for mother and children, non-
communicable and communicable diseases in the context of UHC, in
addition to a high-level discussion on the national experiences in the
Eastern-Mediterranean Region.
In the last day (Wednesday), the Meeting’s sessions will include
health security and Universal Health Coverage, promoting the inclusive
national health systems for migrants and host communities along with
monitoring Universal Health Coverage, as well as a high-level panel
discussion on national experiences in advancing towards UHC in the
emergency context and another panel discussion on the partnerships
for Universal Health Coverage.
In view of the importance of this event, the Ministry of Health has
prepared early and provided the adequate support for the participants
in collaboration with the concerned authorities. A main committee with
subcommittees and teams that responsible for the organisational,
administrative and media issues have been formed.
The Universal Health Coverage means to ensure that all people
obtain the health services they need without suffering financial
hardship.
Countries that invest in UHC make a sound investment in their
human capital. In recent decades, the UHC has emerged as a key
strategy to make progress towards other health-related and broader
development goals. Access to essential quality care and financial
protection not only enhances people’s health and life expectancy, it
also protects countries from epidemics, reduces poverty and the risk of
hunger, creates jobs, drives economic growth and enhances gender
equality.
In pursuance of the Framework for Action on Advancing Universal
Health Coverage in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the WHO
Regional Office holds the ministerial-level regional meeting on UHC to
recommit itself to this goal, and support the member states in
developing their visions and implementing national roadmaps for
strengthening their health systems towards UHC.
Source: Oman News Agency