Governments and social leaders at all levels need to commit more attention and energy to the elimination of child malnutrition, one of the main barriers to faster progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Pregnant mothers [...]]]>

Jorge Jimnez de la Jara MD MPH Professor of Public Health Universidad Católica de Chile Former Chairman Executive Board WHO (2001)

Governments and social leaders at all levels need to commit more attention and energy to the elimination of child malnutrition, one of the main barriers to faster progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Pregnant mothers should be properly fed in order to protect their own lives and determine the best conditions for their unborn children. They should breastfeed for at least six months and afterward provide their babies with nutritious, balanced and cheap complementary (weaning) food. Unfortunately this is not the case for more than a quarter of boys and girls under the age of five in the developing world. Malnutrition is the underlying cause of half of all infant deaths and one of the emerging factors of the growing obesity and cardiovascular disease epidemics in most of the world.

Female leaders should use these opportunities to push the battle against child malnutrition higher up the agenda. In recent years, growing numbers of women have assumed influential leadership roles in Africa, Asia and other parts of the developing world. These women, passionate about their people and their countries, represent the aspirations of women everywhere, but most importantly are also mothers and grandmothers. They can make a difference in this fight to improve nutrition and human development.

To ensure children have a balanced diet with adequate energy, protein and micronutrients levels, diversified foods from local cultures need to be further developed. Systems should be established to guarantee local foods are properly processed in order to comply with safety standards and to ensure availability and access to these sources at all times and for all income levels. To set up these systems, governments have to collaborate with different stakeholders like nutrition specialists, NGOs and industry but also with local women, whose role in the food process either on the field, in the shop or in the kitchen is so prominent.

Health education plays a vital role and is essential within community development strategies to face the challenge of hunger and malnutrition. Women, who are still the primary carer for children, need to receive basic information on correct selection and use of foods and how to make the most of scarce resources. All means must be used to promote public health information, including policy development, social marketing and mass communication.

Poor and emerging countries must learn from each other how to realize efficient health care solutions. Latin American countries, including Chile, have already proven the feasibility of this critical human development task. Pediatricians and public policy experts in these countries have successfully implemented free access to primary health care, basic nutrition education for women, promotion of breast feeding and complementary food provision in effective delivery networks.

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The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia approached HCAC to hold training sessions for capacity building in Saudi health care facilities. HCAC will hold five [...]]]>

HCAC, the Health Care Accreditation Council, signed an agreement with Teeba Care. HCAC aims to improve the level of quality in health care services and patient safety through internationally accepted accreditation.

The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia approached HCAC to hold training sessions for capacity building in Saudi health care facilities. HCAC will hold five training workshops for the Ministry of Health hospitals over a period of 15 days. HCAC’s focus on industry excellence will reinforce the Saudi strategy of improving services and quality in health care.

HCAC received all three levels of ISQua’s official international accreditation and will bring those high standards to Teeba Care. Dr. May Abu Hamdia, CEO of HCAC, stated, “Now that we have received ISQua certification it is easier to achieve our goal of promoting quality health care in the region. Signing an agreement with Teeba Care is the first step.”

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Al Mouwasat said in a statement posted on the Saudi bourse website that the plot covers 11,600 square meters close to the company’s new hospital project and will be used for [...]]]>

Saudi Arabia’s Al Mouwasat Medical Services has signed an agreement to buy a plot of land in Riyadh for 30 million Saudi riyals (Dh29 million).

Al Mouwasat said in a statement posted on the Saudi bourse website that the plot covers 11,600 square meters close to the company’s new hospital project and will be used for future expansion of the hospital. Al Mouwasat, which is listed on the Saudi bourse, owns and operates health care facilities and pharmacies.

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DHA Primary Health Care Sector CEO Dr Ahmad Ebrahim Saif Kalban, said “We have already finished the primary stages which are training efficient doctors and nurses to deal specifically [...]]]>

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) announced that it will develop mini-clinics at health centres for treating patients with asthma and raising awareness on how to prevent the disease.

DHA Primary Health Care Sector CEO Dr Ahmad Ebrahim Saif Kalban, said “We have already finished the primary stages which are training efficient doctors and nurses to deal specifically with patients that suffer from respiratory problems.”

DHA Health Affairs Department Director, Dr Nahed Abdul Khaleq Monsef, said, “The purpose of these mini-clinics is to provide more time for asthma patients. Instead of having a 10-minute consultation from the doctors or nurses, the mini-clinics would dedicate more time in treating them and educating the patients about several methods of prevention and treatment — especially educating the patients about asthma triggers, and how to avoid them.”

The mini-clinics would also provide support groups for asthma patients who sometimes needed counseling about their condition.

In addition, an experimental mini -clinic would open in the next two months at DHA’s existing health centre.

Dr Monsef said if the trial was successful, the mini-clinics would be available in all DHA health centres in Dubai.

As part of the campaign to raise awareness about respiratory illnesses, DHA recently set up an education centre at a shopping mall and offered lung tests to visitors.

Independent respiratory nurse specialist Jacqueline Brereton has been supporting the asthma awareness campaign and running a training program to educate nurses and doctors.

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AHS Mobile Clinic Solutions are the first of its kind as a health care facility in the Middle East. [...]]]>

Mobile Clinic Solutions of Ambulatory Healthcare Services (AHS) has participated in the Abu Dhabi Cityscape global exhibition in ADNEC. The Mobile Clinic Solutions offer the latest screening and medical care technology across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

AHS Mobile Clinic Solutions are the first of its kind as a health care facility in the Middle East. It is well-equipped medically to deliver comprehensive medical consultation, medication examination, screening, vaccination, general dental care and health promotion advice.

Mobile Clinic Solutions in urban areas and remote areas can offer General Medicine, General Dentistry, Ophthalmology, Dermatology services, Preventive and Screening services, School Health, Occupational health, Radiology, Cardio-respiratory and Laboratory services. It also participates in disaster plan preparedness, emergencies, sports events, festival celebrations, national screening programmes, and remote areas as a Health Care Provider.

Mr. Rashid Al Qubaisi, Acting Director of AHS, said: “The AHS initiative of the Mobile clinic solutions at Cityscape is focused on improving community healthcare. This effort to utilize the latest medical technology aims to contribute significantly to our mission of creating health awareness amongst our community.”

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Minister Said expressed desire to cooperate with the UAE in the domains of nursing, management and medicine control in addition [...]]]>

Dr. Rida, Minister of Health, discussed with Director General of the UAE Ministry of Health Dr. Salem al-Darmaki cooperation in health sector and developing it through the first meeting of the Syrian-Emirati Technical and Health Committee.

Minister Said expressed desire to cooperate with the UAE in the domains of nursing, management and medicine control in addition to exchanging expertise for adopting the standards of medical competence and experience.

According to Dr. al-Darmaki, his visit to Syria aims at getting acquainted with the latest developments in health services and laying the ground for a partnership agreement between the ministries of health in both countries.

The Syrian-Emirati Joint Committee will discuss over two days bilateral cooperation in the fields of health care, spreading health awareness, reproductive health and information systems in addition to exchanging expertise for combating cancer, transplanting organs and developing pharmaceutical industries.

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Prince Faisal said the two parties had agreed to work on a common [...]]]>

Red Crescent Authority and the Saudi Ministry of Health decided on a joint program to deal with emergencies in the Kingdom, on a talk held on Saturday between Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah and Saudi Red Crescent Authority President Prince Faisal bin Abdullah.

Prince Faisal said the two parties had agreed to work on a common strategy that would be agreed upon within the next four months.

“We do not want the two bodies to duplicate their activities. We have identified areas where the two can work together to provide people with improved emergency care,” the prince said. He added that such comprehensive planning would raise the standard of health care in the Kingdom.

There will be workshops to explore new areas of cooperation in emergency cases. The ministry also plans to provide helipads in hospitals in all regions so that emergency patients can be ferried without loss of time by the Red Crescent to hospitals. The prince pointed out that the ministry has a wide network of hospitals in all parts of the Kingdom and that it would be easier for the Red Crescent to coordinate the transfer of patients from one point to another.

Al-Rabeeah said such cooperation would definitely benefit accident victims and those who need emergency care. He said the ministry was determined to include all categories of patients in providing the best health care.

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HAAD issued fines ranging from AED 10,000 to AED 20,000 per violation to clinics, pharmacies, [...]]]>

The Health Authority – Abu Dhabi (HAAD) announced that 38 health insurance violation cases, including suspected cases of fraud, forgery and abuse had been uncovered during inspection visits conducted by the Audit Section of the Health Insurance Regulation Department at HAAD.

HAAD issued fines ranging from AED 10,000 to AED 20,000 per violation to clinics, pharmacies, and medical professionals. Violations included claiming for medical services not provided to patients, replacement of prescription medications with non prescribed drugs, medical and non medical consumables, and non medical items. A further violation included employers and/or sponsors not providing continuous health insurance coverage to their sponsored employees who are working and/or residing in the Emirate.

In addition, HAAD referred certain violations to the Abu Dhabi misdemeanor court, which issued a decision to fine Dr. B.K. in M.D. clinic the amount of AED 10000 for receiving the value of treatment services that were not provided to the patient and forging documents. The court also sentenced two defendants for a period of two months imprisonment followed by deportation from the country for the issuance of forged health insurance cards. The court also ordered destruction of the forged cards as a result of their fraudulent acts against insurance companies in order to issue health insurance cards based on forged documents.

Company I.A.I. was fined AED 90,000 and company M.N were fined AED 70,000 by HAAD for underwriting health insurance policies which cover less medical services than is mandatory under the policies, non-compliance with health insurance policies, non-compliance with the policies terms and conditions, For non-adherence with health insurance basic product rates approved by HAAD, making changes to these health insurance policies, providing false and misleading information when applying for a license, and for non-compliance with the rules & principles in marketing health insurance policies.

HAAD also decided not to renew the license of a Third Party Administrator M. N. due to repetitive irregularities & violations such as working in areas beyond the granted license, the existence of conflict of interest between the company and providers of health care services and violation of undertaking made by the company when applied for license and practicing activities not licensed for in the field of Health Insurance Scheme.

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