Qatar has been witnessing an all-encompassing development for the past few years in its quest to give the best to its citizens. The steady progress the country has achieved in health sector deserves sincere commendation. Instead of resting on its laurels, Qatar is always on the look out for bringing in the latest development in health and medicine, whether it is technology or skill and knowledge.
This week it is the second achievement that Qatar marked in this field. H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, in the presence of Father Amir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, inaugurated Sidra Medicine, the most advanced hospital equipped with cutting-edge technology and providing service rendered by highly experienced experts.
H H Sheikha Moza and H H the Father Amir also graced the opening ceremony of the fourth World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) at Qatar National Convention Center. During the opening ceremony, the Q-Chip was presented to H H Sheikha Moza, highlighting the accomplishment of Qatar Genome Programme and Qatar Biobank, in developing the first local Gene Array designed based on data from thousands of Qatari genomes sequenced during the past three years.
Scores of dignitaries, health ministers and leaders in global healthcare attended the annual summit and this year’s session attracted some 2,000 people from all the continents, making it the biggest WISH gathering since its launch in 2013.
During the opening speech, Minister of Public Health, H E Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, said: “The challenges we face are familiar. Access to affordable healthcare for our citizens, harnessing emerging technologies, understanding the rise of new diseases, new threat to health and maintaining a highly skilled and motivated workforce”. Theses words clearly show what is the core idea of development in Qatar. Since the establishment of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development in August 1995, it has been the linchpin in the development of every sector of the community, whether it is education, health or culture.
The country has started reaping the benefit from the great vision H H the Father Amir shared with H H Sheikha Moza in 1995 for the overall development of the Qatari society, which resulted in the establishment of Qatar Foundation. The Foundation is not only augmenting development in Qatar, but also playing a significant role in supporting the less-privileged around the world through several programmes such as Education Above All, ROTA etc. The Foundation is built on the principle that a nation’s greatest resources is the potential of its people and it aims to develop that potential internationally also through a network of centres.
