Council of Arab Health Ministers’ Technical Committee Discusses Humanitarian Crises in Gaza, Region.

Cairo: The humanitarian and health crises in the Gaza Strip and several other Arab countries were the main focus during the 15th meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Council of Arab Health Ministers. The meeting took place on Monday at the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States' headquarters, in preparation for the upcoming 61st regular session of the Council and its Executive Office, scheduled for December 11-12 in Iraq. According to Qatar News Agency, Ambassador Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, the Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Social Affairs Sector at the League of Arab States, explained that the meeting aimed to craft initial recommendations for submission to the Executive Office and subsequently to the Council of Arab Health Ministers for necessary decision-making. She highlighted that the agenda addressed significant health topics amid the unprecedented humanitarian and health crises impacting many Arab nations, which have severely affected healthcare services. Abu Ghazaleh em phasized that the meeting's agenda included discussions on health and humanitarian conditions in regions such as the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen. Additionally, the committee reviewed the implementation of key strategies like the Arab Strategy for Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, the Arab Strategy for a Health-Friendly Budget, and the Amman Declaration, which underscores the role of Arab immigrant health competencies in supporting the region's health sector, following the conference in Jordan last October. Further discussions involved reviewing the Arab Economic and Social Council's decisions about establishing the Arab Drug Agency and evaluating the activities of bodies and authorities under the Council of Arab Health Ministers. The report from the Technical Secretariat between the Council's 60th and 61st regular sessions in Geneva and Baghdad was also reviewed. The meeting also addressed topics for the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance hosted by Saudi Arabi a this November. Additionally, proposals from Jordan on digital transformation in health services and from Algeria on enhancing digital technology in the health system were discussed. Topics such as the conditions of trainees at the Arab Council for Health Specialties in crisis-hit Arab nations, cooperation with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and procedural issues concerning the Arab Fund for Health Development were also on the agenda. The date and venue for the next session of the Council of Arab Health Ministers were deliberated as well.