Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Health Ministers inaugurated on Saturday the "Gulf Center for Disease Prevention and Control" in Riyadh to strength coordination, build knowledge and produce evidence to enable the prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases, mitigate public health emergencies, and promote healthy communities across the Gulf.
The event was attended by GCC Secretary-General Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf.
The ministers discussed various issues of common interest and took several decisions, including the implementation of decisions and directives of the Supreme Council in the health field, and implementation of the joint future action plan, in addition to following up on the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005).
Other decisions include organizing registration and classification of health specialties in GCC states, as well as supporting ongoing cooperation and coordination of work between Gulf states and other countries, and international cooperation in the health sector.
Al-Hajraf lauded the Saudi Ministry of Health's efforts in launching the center aiming to boost health cooperation to set policies and common indicators as well as share information among the GCC countries, and its vital role in assessing risks and activating common action programs and plans, in addition to backing and enhancing training and using health data to develop joint Gulf indicators and research.
