The Steering Committee on Health (SCH) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which was held at the OIC General Secretariat via video conference issued today the final communique on COVID-19 pandemic. The communique confirmed that the main objective of the meeting was to share knowledge and information on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has had devastating global reverberations, and discuss the ways and means to coordinate the individual and collective response thereto in the OIC Member States. This is in line with the objectives of the OIC Charter that calls for cooperation and coordination among Member States in humanitarian emergencies. The meeting recognized that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic constitutes an unprecedented challenge for the OIC Member States and the world at large. It requires immediate and decisive actions at the OIC, national, regional, and domestic levels to curb its spread and to protect the people, especially the vulnerable groups. The meeting reviewed the level of preparedness of Member States in addressing the pandemic and underscored the need for the Member States to put in place national Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan ("EPR Plan") to strengthen prevention, impact mitigation, and other interventions. The meeting praised its Chair, UAE, and appreciated its expeditious response to hold it and the Chairpersonship of the UAE Minister of Health of its proceedings. --More 00:21 LOCAL TIME 21:21 GMT 0045 www.spa.gov.sa/2072218
