Doha: The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) organized a workshop in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) on the Country Cooperation Strategy 2024-2030. The two-day event brought together senior officials representing the MoPH and other relevant ministries and agencies in the State of Qatar, along with representatives of the WHO and UN agencies and partners. The workshop aimed to consult and agree on the country cooperation strategy, during which health priorities and challenges were identified, and a strategic agenda for MoPH-WHO cooperation was set. The Country Cooperation Strategy is a strategic framework that aims to guide the WHO's work within a member country and cooperate with its relevant institutions, and is formulated in the context of global and regional health priorities. HE Minister of Public Health, Dr. Hanan Mohammed Al Kuwari, said that the State of Qatar is keen to strengthen close cooperation with the WHO in a way that contributes to supporting national policies, strategi es and plans aimed at improving the health and well-being of Qatari society, in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the third national development strategy for Qatar, and its health strategies, in addition to the sustainable development goals. Her Excellency added in a speech delivered on her behalf by Assistant Minister for Health Affairs at the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Salih Ali Al Marri, that the serious and intensive work between specialists and experts in the State of Qatar and the WHO to develop the country cooperation strategy is of great importance, especially in light of the wonderful results they have reached to determine work priorities for the six-year strategy, which contributes to advancing cooperation between the State of Qatar and the WHO to broader horizons. The State of Qatar has an advanced social protection system, and has achieved many sustainable development goals and objectives in the fields of health, education and social protection. The Qatar National Vision 2030 is an ambitious vision that aims to transform Qatar by the year 2030 into an advanced country capable of achieving sustainable development and ensuring the continuation of a decent living for its people, generation after generation. Qatar's national vision is built upon human, social, economic and environmental development. Officials and experts from the MoPH and WHO participated in the preparations for the country cooperation strategy, which began in 2023 after the establishment of the WHO regional office in the State of Qatar. The preparations were at three levels - global, regional ,and country. WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr. Hanan Hassan Balkhy, expressed her appreciation for the process of cooperation between the organization and the State of Qatar, and for Qatars achievements in the health and development fields. She appreciated what the State of Qatar had achieved for its citizens and its regional and international environment, and said that investment in health and developmen t in Qatar led to continuous improvements in health patterns and reduced deaths. She stressed her commitment to continuing fruitful and constructive cooperation and strengthening the strategic partnership with the State of Qatar, pointing out that the country cooperation strategy is a framework through which the WHO and the State of Qatar cooperate together to achieve common goals in the field of health and development with the aim of establishing solid foundations and a strategic basis for planning, as well as moving the levels of cooperation with Qatar to strategic dimensions, which contributes to its launch to greater horizons in accordance with its future vision. During the workshop, participants reviewed the various aspects of the country cooperation strategy through extensive working sessions and discussions, taking into account the work of all partners and stakeholders in the health-related fields, and taking into account developments in strategic policies or practices undertaken by the national heal th sector and other relevant partners. The workshop aimed to achieve consensus on the strategic priorities for cooperation between the MoPH and the WHO for the coming six years. The country cooperation strategy is guided globally by the Sustainable Development Goals and the WHO's Fourteenth General Program of Work and nationally by Qatar's national vision regarding the health sector, socio-economic situation of the population, and the main determinants of health by identifying key health priorities and challenges, collaborations are framed over the next six years. Source: Qatar News Agency