OIC top official calls for establishment of doctors’ network

JEDDAH: The secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Yousef Al-Othaimeen, has proposed the establishment of a voluntary network of Muslim doctors affiliated to the OIC to help alleviate the sufferings of those in need of medical assistance in member states.
He also called on all OIC member states to increase cooperation in the fields of drugs and vaccines to eradicate diseases. The OIC secretary-general made these proposals at the sixth session of the Islamic Conference of Health Ministers recently hosted by Saudi Arabia in Jeddah.
The conference discussed the Strategic Action Plan 2014-2023 of the OIC in the area of healthy lifestyles, prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, and disaster situations.
Turkey’s Minister of Health Ahmet Demircan told Arab News: “Tukey has made considerable progress over the past 15 years in the field of health care, and we have been extensively sharing experiences with our sister countries through the OIC…”
“In the area of health care delivery, we jointly build and operate hospitals in our sister countries such as Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Gaza, and Kyrgyzstan. We also deliver emergency health services after disasters such as the recent blast in Somalia; there were 34 severely injured civilians and we were able to bring them to Turkey and provide them with the care they needed,” he said.
The Turkish minister stressed the readiness of Turkey to exchange its expertise and knowledge in various fields of health and pharmacy with member states.
He also discussed health and nutrition of mothers and children, self-reliance in the provision and production of medicines, vaccines and medical technology, as well as the health conditions of migrants, displaced people, and refugees.
One of the achievements of this conference was the establishment of a center of excellence for the OIC on vaccines and biotechnology products.
Mishaal Al-Rubaian, the Saudi Ministry of Health spokesperson, told Arab News: “The center has been markedly successful by the progress made by Indonesia as chair of the working group on vaccine manufacturing. It was established during the fourth session of the conference.”