Kuwait Affirms Commitment To Backing Int'l Efforts For Improving Global Health

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) GENEVA, May 27 (KUNA) - The State of Kuwait emphasized on Tuesday firm commitment to supporting international health organizations and initiatives aiming to promote and upgrade healthcare worldwide.
This statement was made by Kuwait's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva Ambassador Nasser Al-Hayen to KUNA following the conclusion of the 78th World Health Assembly which was held in Geneva during period from May 19 to May 27.
He cited Kuwait's high-caliber delegation to the event, headed Health Minister Dr. Ahmad Al-Awadhi, as a proof on its full commitment to working with the World Health Organization and other international organizations to provide high-quality healthcare to people in need everywhere.
Ambassador Al-Hayen commended the special ceremony held at the Assembly to distribute the award of His Highness the late Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to the winners.
This prestigious award embodies Kuwait's humanitarian vision and its pioneering role in supporting healthcare, especially for the most vulnerable groups, he clarified.
He expressed pride that the Elderly Services Department at the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health has jointly won the 2025 His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize for Research in Health Care for the Elderly and in Health Promotion. This achievement reflects Kuwait's ongoing national efforts to serve the elderly, he noted.
The Kuwaiti diplomat congratulated Chinese professor Huali Wang who shared the same award with the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health in recognition for significant contributions to China's national healthy ageing and national dementia action plans.
He pointed to Kuwait's pivotal role in the WHA's adoption of several resolutions in support of the Palestinian people.
Kuwait's efforts are driven by its firm and principled position in defending the rights of the Palestinian people and their just cause in international forums, said Ambassador Al-Hayen.
He disclosed that the State of Kuwait participated, as part of the Arab Group, in submitting a draft resolution calling for raising the Palestinian flag at the World Health Organization headquarters, with the aim of upgrading Palestine's representation in the WHO to be in line with its status at the United Nations.
He referred to the Assembly's adoption of a resolution submitted by the Arab Group, including the State of Kuwait, calling on the Director-General of the World Health Organization to inform the State of Palestine of the international health regulations as a preliminary step to its accession as a party to these regulations.
Ambassador Al-Hayen affirmed the State of Kuwait's full support for the Assembly's demands for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the occupied Palestinian territories, ensuring unfettered access to healthcare, restoring vital services, addressing malnutrition and disease outbreaks, providing psychological support, accelerating medical evacuations, and ensuring continued international support for the Palestinian health sector.
He also stressed the importance of strengthening international coordination in addressing global health challenges.
In this regard, the Kuwaiti diplomat highlighted the role played by the State of Kuwait in the World Health Assembly's adoption of the first Pandemics Agreement, which aims to build a more coordinated and equitable international response to future health crises, after more than three years of negotiations among member states.
This agreement came in response to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and aims primarily to bridge gaps and achieve equality in prevention, preparedness, and response to epidemics, as well as to enhance international cooperation between governments, organizations, civil society, and the private sector in this regard.
Speaking about the funding crises facing the United Nations and other international organizations, Ambassador Al-Hayen stated that Kuwait has helped mobilize international support to these organizations, most notably the World Health Organization, to ensure sustainable and effective funding that enables them to fulfill their duties to the most vulnerable countries and peoples, especially in light of protracted crises and conflicts. (end)
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