Tribune News Network
Doha
The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) recently organised a symposium on the One Health Approach in Qatar, with the participation of representatives from a number of ministries and authorities in the country in the public and private sectors, in addition to specialised international organisations.
The symposium aimed to develop a national plan to implement the One Health Framework in Qatar, in a way that contributes to the realisation of health strategies and the Qatar National Vision 2030.
Participated in the symposium, professional experts and academic researchers from Qatar, the GCC countries and international organisations exchanged their experiences and research results on One Health and presented results of recent research conducted in Qatar and a number of countries on zoonotic and emerging diseases.
The symposium, which was held under the auspices of the Qatar National Research Fund, covered a variety of significant topics, including control of emerging and re-emerging zoonoses, control of endemic zoonoses, neglected tropical diseases and vector-borne diseases, enhancing food safety, reducing antimicrobial resistance, and progressively integrating the environment into the health agenda One.
Dr Hamad Al Rumaihi, director of the Health Protection and Communicable Disease Division at the Ministry of Public Health, welcomed all participants.
He added that since the COVID-19 pandemic, utilising the One Health approach has become urgently necessary, necessitating the formation of a multidisciplinary technical group to assess and investigate risks, conduct scientific research and take appropriate measures that meet the needs of each sector.
According to Dr Mohamed Jarrar, director of the Biomedical and Health Sciences Programme, QNRF, such events are consistent with the Qatar’s approach to coordinate efforts to monitor and assess risks and develop appropriate measures to effectively address them.
Participants in the symposium included representatives from the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Organization for Animal Health, Global Health Development and the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network , the United Nations Development Fund, the Gulf and European Centers for Disease Control, Ministry of Municipality, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Hamad Medical Corporation, Primary Health Care Corporation, Qatar University, Anti-Doping Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medicine- Qatar, representatives of medical and veterinary laboratories and a number of private sector companies.
