Prime Minister, Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani announced today, Monday, the inclusion of six governorates in the joint management system with international companies. Al-Sudani said during the launch of the joint management and operation program for modern hospitals, in Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf Teaching Hospital: "The joint management system will apply the participatory method in 6 governorates; Najaf Al-Ashraf, Basra, Maysan, Dhi Qar, Karbala, and Babylon, and it comes within a new vision that will help Iraqi medical, health and technical cadres to raise the level of their expertise in various therapeutic fields, as it will contribute to providing better treatment services, in various specialties. " He added: "Today we are implementing what we set in the government program as a goal to raise the level of health and medical services and care provided to citizens. We have followed a new approach to reach the best services and health care, through the joint management and operation method with international companies spe cialized in management and providing distinguished staff. We have also started rapid rehabilitation projects for hospitals in Baghdad and the governorates, and we are still continuing." The Prime Minister continued: "We have continued to complete the projects of hospitals and health centers that are lagging in Baghdad and the governorates, and we have begun to complete them through specialized committees. We have moved towards building 16 new hospitals, with a capacity of 100 beds at the district level, and they will soon be transferred to specialized companies that have undergone auditing and qualification. We have also allocated separate funds from the Ministry of Health's budget for specialized treatment centers for kidney, cancer and heart diseases, to improve the quality of treatment for difficult diseases." He stressed: "The company was very determined and dedicated to implementing the contract. Today, Najaf Hospital has become a center for attracting treatment, adding to the holy city, which is the d estination of all Muslims, and we are betting on the success of the participatory approach in conjunction with the implementation of the health insurance law," praising the Ministry of Health and the Najaf Health Department, expressing his hope to work with all momentum for the success of the program. He explained: "This application is the first application to be launched in Iraq, in partnership with reputable international companies specialized in managing health institutions and hospitals, which will contribute to reducing the need for Iraqi citizens to travel for treatment outside Iraq, and saving huge sums in this field." He pointed out that the participating companies are subject to levels of auditing and review, reaching an elite of these companies with a distinguished group, which is the Italian (San Donato), and Al-Sudani toured the corridors of the hospital to see the level of services and the smoothness of the system's implementation. Source: National Iraqi News Agency