The Ministry of Public Health and the Planning and Statistics Authority have signed an agreement to conduct the second National STEP wise Survey for chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) risk factors.
The agreement was signed by HE the Minister of Public Health Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari and HE the Head of the Planning and Statistics Authority Dr. Saleh bin Mohammed Al-Nabet.
They agree to conduct the survey on 8000 Qatari and non-Qatari families; develop the action plans required to conduct the survey; and form a team of experts to study the best survey methods, prepare progress reports, and identify challenges, if found.
The survey is the second cycle of STEP wise surveys and a follow up for the 2012 survey, which is conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization,
It aims to provide a database on chronic non-communicable diseases and risk factors of non-communicable diseases in the state of Qatar, such as tobacco use, lack of physical activity, unhealthy nutrition, obesity, hypertension, increased blood glucose and increased blood fat, to be able to develop action plans under the national health strategy for control of these diseases and their risk factors.
Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari stressed the importance of preventing and combating NCDs through effective measures starting with collecting the population data with the involvement of major stakeholders such as PSA.
This would strengthen the NCDs monitoring systems and help in implementation, monitoring and evaluation of population-wide interventions and NCDs programs at all healthcare levels, she said, adding that this would also pave the way for achieving Health strategies and Qatar National Vision 2030.
For his part, Dr. Saleh bin Mohammed Al-Nabet said that this cooperation between the two entities highlights the importance of inter-sectoral collaborative approach towards improving health indicators of the nation.
In this regard, he explained that highly effective management of non-communicable diseases can only be achieved if accurate data are available on these diseases and the risk factors associated with them, and this will be positively reflected in reducing the rates of non-communicable diseases and deaths resulting from them in the State of Qatar.
