Doha, Qatar: Minister of Public Health HE Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al Mahmoud has met with HE Dr Hanan Hassan Balkhi, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, who is currently visiting Qatar.
They discussed enhancing the means of cooperation between the State of Qatar and the World Health Organization, as well as the joint work to support the countries of the region.
During the meeting, Dr Hanan Balkhi introduced the new Regional Strategic Operational Plan that adapts WHO’s 14th Global Programme of Work (GPW 14) to the regional context. To strengthen support to Member States, WHO’s Regional Director has also launched flagship initiatives to accelerate progress in implementing the strategic operational plan and achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals.
The meeting also witnessed announcing the HMC’s Trauma and Emergency Center as WHO Collaborating Centre on Trauma, bringing the number of WHO Collaborating Centres at Qatar to four, including Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Department of Geriatrics and Long-Term Care as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Healthy Ageing and Dementia, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Disease Epidemiology Analytics on HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis, and HMC’s Tobacco Control Center as a WHO Collaborating Centre for treating tobacco dependence.
WHO collaborating centres are institutions, which are designated by the Director-General to carry out activities in support of the Organization's programmes. Currently there are over 800 WHO collaborating centres in over 80 Member States.
The meeting was attended by several officials from the Ministry of Public Health, along with Dr Rayana Bou-Haka, the WHO Representative in Qatar.
