2006
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Better healthcare in Mafraq
The Mafraq region is to allocate funds to its health budget next year in order to enlarge health centres, reported the Jordan Times. An increase in the number of people with health insurance following the implementation of new regulations has forced an expansion of existing services. The budget also includes funding for enhanced dental services and medical laboratories.
Jordan on alert for bird flu
The Jordanian government is on alert following the latest outbreak of bird flu in Egypt which has claimed three lives over the past week, reported the Jordan Times. Assistant Secretary General of the Ministry of Health Adel Belbeisi said all necessary precautions were being taken and $5.7m worth of tamiflu had been acquired.
Hajj anti-smoking drive
The Saudi Arabian Health Ministry has launched an anti-smoking campaign for the fifth consecutive Hajj pilgrimage, reported Arab News. Dr Abdullah Al Badah, who is heading up the campaign, said at least a third of all pilgrims smoked. The drive is focusing on the associated health risks as well as the financial costs of smoking.
Drug tests for Hajj bus drivers
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health has carried out more than 3,200 blood tests on applicants for the job of driving buses transporting Hajj pilgrims in order to detect possible drug abuse, reported Arab News. The various tests threw up 11 positive results. 13 laboratories in Medina and Mecca are also on hand to provide fast results to blood tests for pilgrims if the need should arise.
UAE Red Crescent, $50m raised
The UAE Red Crescent Authority has distributed nearly $50m in humanitarian aid in the nine months from January to September, reported Gulf News. The funds, generated by the public and private sector, as well as by residents, have been channelled towards projects in Palestine, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Sudan, Bosnia and Iraq. Abdullah Al Mahmoud, the RCA's Manasger of Projects and Development said the need for aid in Palestine is especially acute.
Dubai boosts New Year services
Dubai's hospitals and emergency services are gearing up for the imminent New Year festivities with many doctors and nurses from the Rashid Hospital Trauma Centre being placed on call in order to offer possible support to colleagues, reported Gulf News. The number of available ambulances is being raised from 46 to 60, as alcohol related incidents such as road accidents and fights drain resources.
Ear surgery laboratory
Bahrain is setting up a facility at Salmaniya Medical Complex where doctors will be trained to perform complicated ear surgery, Trade Arabia reported. Local doctors would be trained at the temporal bone laboratory by senior surgical consultants, removing the need for them to train abroad.
GE Healthcare new technologies
GE Healthcare will display its latest diagnostic imaging technology at Arab Health 2007. The company is head sponsor of the Middle East Imaging and Diagnostic Congress, which coincides with Arab Health. GE Healthcare says it's investing around $1bn annually on research and development.
Free emergency treatment
Patients with 'life-threatening' conditions will be given free emergency medical treatment at UAE public hospitals, Gulf News reported. They will be charged for subsequent non-emergency treatment, a Health Ministry official told the daily.
Two bird flu deaths in Egypt
Two more women have died of bird flu in Egypt, bringing the country's death toll to nine, the BBC reports. A 15-year-old girl died in a Cairo hospital on Monday. A 30-year-old woman from Zifta, north of Cairo, died on Sunday. She and two other family members tested positive for the H5N1 strain bird flu after slaughtering their flock of ducks to prevent the spread of the disease, which had already killed three of their birds.
16% of Qataris diabetic
It is thought around 16% of Qatar's population is suffering from diabetes, according to a report in Al Sharq and cited by The Peninsula. The figure gives Qatar one of the highest incidences of the disease in the world and children under the age of eight are now suffering from it. Sedentary lifestyles and poor eating habits have been pinpointed as major causes.
Baby held to ransom in Saudi
A Pakistani man and his Indian wife are claiming the Al Salama Hospital in Riyadh is refusing to allow them to take their new born baby home until their bill is settled, reported Arab News. The parents have said they are only allowed to see the child once day at 8pm to breast feed the prematurely born infant. The National Society for Human Rights is to look into the issue.
AD eco study ends
The results of an ecological study of Abu Dhabi are set to be released in January, as part of a project which gathered statistics and data on the state of its environment, reported Gulf News. The Abu Dhabi Global Environment Data Initiative was first launched in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. It is possible other emirates will also subsequently undergo a similar investigation.
Minimum standards for hospitals
All hospitals in Bahrain will have to meet new minimum standards to get their yearly accreditation, under a law coming into operation in March 2007, Gulf Daily News reported. The new Hospital Standards legislation will apply to both government and private hospitals, according to a senior health official.
Bahrain Aids awareness campaign
Bahrain's Ministry of Health will launch an Aids public awareness campaign next week, Gulf Daily news reported. The $40k campaign is being run with the help of the United Nations Development Programme. It will be aimed particularly at drug users, pregnant women and youth.
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