Tribune News Network
Doha
The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) hosted a public health seminar on ‘Antimicrobial Resistance: A Growing Emergency for the Health System Worldwide. Response at the International and National Levels’. The seminar was held under the framework of the Healthy Cities initiative. The initiative is a strategic project under the National Health Strategy’s ‘Health in All Policies’ (HiAP) approach, which utilises multi-sectoral collaboration to address and tackle the most pressing global health challenges of our time.
Assistant Minister for Health Affairs at the Ministry of Public Health, Qatar, Dr Salih Al Marri, underscored the urgency of addressing and raising awareness on antimicrobial resistance, stating, “We are honoured to host this seminar, bringing together experts and stakeholders to address the urgent issue of antimicrobial resistance… At a time when antimicrobial resistance poses a significant threat to global health security, it is imperative that we join forces to develop innovative solutions and strategies. By fostering dialogue and collaboration among diverse stakeholders, we aim to not only raise awareness but also catalyse concrete actions to combat AMR and safeguard public health”.
The seminar featured two distinguished speakers: Lord Ara Darzi, co-director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, who presented “Fleming Centre Initiative: Scaling up Solutions to Combat AMR,” followed by Dr Abdullatif Al-Khal, deputy chief medical officer at Hamad Medical Corporation, who presented “The Response of Qatar to Address the Challenge Posed by Antimicrobial Resistance”.
The seminar commenced with an opening speech by renowned expert in antimicrobial resistance, Dr Rana Hajjeh, director of Programme Management - acting director of Communicable Disease Department of the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO), “It is a pleasure to set the stage for this very timely initiative… Antimicrobial resistance is an important public health threat in our region and major efforts are still needed to come up with concrete solutions to accelerate the control of AMR, across the multiple sectors. It is inspiring to see the critical role played by our region in AMR, with Qatar leading on innovative ‘One Health’ approaches and our region hosting soon the 4th inter-ministerial meeting on AMR in KSA in November. We look forward to working closely with all our partners and countries in our region in taking forward the AMR agenda.”
Following the opening remarks, Lord Ara Darzi gave his presentation on the Fleming Centre’s Initiative to scale up solutions in combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Highlighting the importance of the issue, Lord Darzi emphasised that “AMR is a major threat to our health security”. He further commended the State of Qatar’s role in hosting the seminar, saying, “I welcome the State of Qatar’s leadership in bringing together global experts to address this challenge and drive meaningful change”.
Subsequent to Lord Darzi’s presentation, Dr Abdullatif Al-Khal, deputy chief medical officer at Hamad Medical Corporation, presented on Qatar’s response in addressing the challenge posed by antimicrobial resistance. Dr Al-Khal underscored that “Qatar, like the rest of the world, is affected by this growing threat, and the Ministry of Public Health has taken the [initiative] to combat it. [By] adopting the ‘One Health’ approach, which will need the active contribution and collaboration of multiple sectors, including human health, animal health, food production, agriculture, and the environment, [—as well as] increased public awareness and active engagement, will be key to the success of the national response.”
As the seminar drew to a close, a Q&A session was provided for attendees to engage directly with the speakers and discuss the topic of antimicrobial resistance in more detail.The seminar drew attendance from public health and healthcare professionals, academics, and policymakers from various institutions in Qatar, contributing to a robust exchange of ideas and insights.
