Qatar, UK Discuss Cooperation In Healthcare

Doha, Qatar: A recent meeting of the Joint Working Group between the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom was held via video conference.

The MoPH delegation was led by Assistant Minister of Public Health for Health Affairs, Dr Salih Ali Al Marri (pictured) while the British side was headed by Deputy Director of Bilateral Relations and Trade at the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom, Fionn Craig.

The meeting aimed to deepen cooperation between the two parties in areas such as antimicrobial resistance, artificial intelligence and data in healthcare, the resilience of medical supply chains, and patient safety and quality of care.

The meeting reviewed several important topics, most notably an overview of Qatar's priorities regarding antimicrobial resistance, the national programme for combating antimicrobial resistance, pharmaceutical security and the strategy for securing antibiotics.

It also included an overview of the United Kingdom's priorities on antimicrobial resistance, initiatives following the 2024 United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on antimicrobial resistance, and establishing an independent scientific committee dedicated to evidence-based action on antimicrobial resistance.

The meeting also discussed the digital transformation of healthcare, including the Qatar Health Information Exchange Platform, workforce development, collaboration with the private sector and outsourcing of digital health and artificial intelligence solutions. In addition, the meeting also addressed the integration of artificial intelligence in healthcare in the United Kingdom, the ethics and regulation of AI in healthcare, and the ten-year health plan to transition from paper-based to digital systems in the UK.

The meeting further reviewed Qatar's approach to supply chain resilience strategies, the implementation of artificial intelligence in healthcare supply chain management, and an overview of the national framework for patient safety, including priority areas, national policies under development, and capacity building for patient safety and risk management.

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