The Ministry of Health, represented by the Directorate General of Primary Health Care, is hosting experts from the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office to follow up on the progress made in monitoring the national efforts on the prevention and control of NCDs and review the screening and early detection for breast cancer. The WHO delegation, currently visiting the Sultanate for four days, is headed by Dr. Asmus Hemrick, the Director of Non-Communicable and Mental Health Department at the WHO office in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

His Excellency the Minister of Health H.E. Dr. Hilal Ali Al Sabti, in the presence of concerned departments in the ministry, held a meeting with the delegation today ( Monday) to discuss the updates in the fields of NCD surveillance and how to benefit from them at the national level. In addition, the meeting discussed the completion of the existing work in establishing asthma, diabetes and breast cancer collaboration centers with WHO.

The WHO experts will also conduct field visits to primary, secondary, and specialized healthcare institutions to review the readiness and performance of NCD clinics and registries, the screening services for breast cancer in primary health care, in addition to the provided services at the specialized level.

The experts will conclude their visit by meeting stakeholders from different health and non-health sectors to discuss the mechanism of sharing the national indicators for monitoring the preventive and control measures of NCDs and discussing the challenges facing the early detection of breast cancer. At the end, recommendations will be submitted to the concerned authorities to benefit in developing the future plans and programs.