Qatar participated Saturday in the 88th meeting of the Gulf Health Council of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) and the 11th meeting of the GCC Health Ministers Committee in Kuwait.
Qatar delegation was headed by HE the Minister of Public Health, Mansoor bin Ebrahim al-Mahmoud.
The two meetings reviewed topics related to joint Gulf health co-operation and action.
The 88th meeting of the Gulf Health Council focused on significant issues, including an update of the unified Gulf Health Strategy 2026-2030.
The 11th meeting of the GCC Health Ministers Committee addressed several key topics, notably the GSS Strategy for Combating Drugs 2025-2026, health insurance, the outcomes of unifying the classification and registration procedures for health specialities, healthy cities, and the Gulf Virtual Health Platform.
Speaking during the 11th meeting of the Committee of GCC Health Ministers, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi affirmed that the Gulf health system has achieved great development in recent years by upgrading its health systems, qualifying national cadres to be at the highest levels of efficiency, elevating their capabilities for disease prevention and control, as well as expanding the scope of initiatives aimed at improving the quality of medical services, thereby surpassing the regional and global averages in the health index.
Albudaiwi affirmed that the GCC countries are moving with confident steps towards completing the process of Gulf health integration by unifying common health standards and protocols and building strategic partnerships with international organisations and leading countries in the health field.
"The GCC countries are working in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the project to accredit the Healthy Cities Programme, which seeks to achieve the highest level of health and well-being in sustainable and socially effective cities,” he pointed out.
Albudaiwi underscored that health represents the fundamental pillar of comprehensive development and the most important investment in the future of man and society, saying: "The GCC countries have been keen to transform this belief into a tangible reality that is reflected in the lives of Gulf citizens and residents.”
The GCC secretary-general mentioned that there are many gains achieved by the GCC countries in the health field, including that more than 204,000 Gulf citizens benefited from government medical services in the GCC countries outside their home countries during 2023, in implementation of the principle of equal treatment among citizens of the GCC countries.
"The total number of hospitals in the GCC countries has exceeded 863, with an average annual growth of 1.5%, and the number of health centres and complexes has exceeded 3,400 health facilities, with an average annual growth of 2.5%,” Albudaiwi added.
He added: "The General Secretariat, in co-ordination with the Ministries of Health and relevant authorities, also implemented the experimental indicative classification programme for 783 male and female doctors from GCC countries working outside their countries during 2025, in support of national competencies and to strengthen an integrated Gulf health system. The statistics of these gains are living proof of the depth of health integration among the GCC countries and of our common determination to build a solid health sector that guarantees a better life for our citizens.”