The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Coordination with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Chair of the Seventh Islamic Health Ministers Conference,, will organize an emergency video conference meeting of the OIC steering ministerial committee on health on combating Coronavirus, on 9 April 2020. The meeting comes in the light of the unprecedented challenges for the member states in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, OIC Secretary General Dr Yousef Al-Othaimeen explained, pointing out that committee members will discuss the member states' efforts to tackle the challenges sparked by the COVID-19 outbreak. He further stated that the purpose of the meeting is to share and update information on the novel coronavirus, consult on the pandemic and develop strategies to slow down and contain the spread of the virus in the member states. The following countries are the members of the steering committee: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Maldives, Pakistan, Mauritania, Chad, Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Sudan. The committee also includes in its structure the following OIC institutions: OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH); Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), IsDB and ISESCO. It also partners with WHO, UNICEF; United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and Gavi (The Vaccine Alliance).
