Health Minister stresses the need to develop a strategy to prevent and control infection

In the statement of the Syrian Arab Republic, on behalf of the member states of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the Minister of Health on the global strategy for infection prevention and control,  Dr. Hassan Al-Ghabbash stressed the importance of developing a strategy that allows more attention and accountability through strategic goals, objectives, and indicators.Al-Ghobash explained that after formulating the strategy, there is a strong momentum for member states to push that strategy forward as a comprehensive system to enhance health care, and infection prevention.

The Minister of Health pointed out that the proposed draft global strategy for infection prevention and control is in line with national achievements in the field of infection prevention and control, and includes updating national guidelines in the fields of training, capacity building and applying national expertise to improve priority infection prevention and control practices on the ground. He stressed that Syria is building on these achievements to further expand the scope of infection prevention and control, and to ensure the provision of safe and high-quality health care.Al-Ghabbash pointed out that there are gaps and shortcomings in infection prevention and control programs and practices in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that no country can claim to have a strong infection prevention and control programme, especially low-income countries.

It is noteworthy that the World Health Assembly unanimously elected Syria in May 2021, during its seventy-fourth session, to membership in the Executive Board of the World Health Organization, representing the Eastern Mediterranean Region, for a period of three years.