Saeed Al-Khotani Saudi Gazette RIYADH — GCC health ministers will discuss at a two-day conference in Bahraini capital Manama starting Tuesday an initiative to make the Arabian peninsula malaria free. Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah is heading the Saudi delegation, which includes Vice Minister for Health Affairs Dr. Mansoor Al-Hawasi, Deputy Minister for Public Health Dr. Ziad Maimish and Deputy Minister for Supplies and Engineering Affairs Dr. Salah Al-Mazroua, among others. A ministry spokesperson said that in addition to the malaria initiative, ministers will discuss a host of issues of interest to the GCC states, including developing health systems, economics of health, patient quality and safety, non-communicable diseases and alternative and complementary medicine. The health of expatriate manpower, anti-smoking campaigns, unified purchasing of medicines and conducting a comprehensive Gulf study on patient safety are other issues that will be discussed, the spokesman said. The theme of the conference is health finance.
