Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 07/02/2022
The 14th meeting of the OIC Steering Committee on Health (SCH) was held at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 06 February 2022 under the Chairmanship of the Ministry of Health and Prevention of the UAE.
The meeting was held in a hybrid format and attended by senior health officials from Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Turkey. High-level officials from the relevant OIC institutions (COMSTECH, SESRIC, ICESCO and IsDB) and international organizations (WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, GAVI and Global Fund to fight Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS) also attended the meeting.
The 14th Meeting of SCH, inter alia, reviewed the COVID-19 situation among the Member States; compared notes and exchanged ideas about the efforts of the Members in the fight against the pandemic, and discussed ways of achieving equity in access to vaccines and post COVID-19 recovery plans.
In his opening remarks, H.E. Amb. Askar Mussinov, the OIC Assistant Secretary General for Science & Technology briefed the meeting about the OIC’s initiatives in the fight against COVID-19 among its Member States. He underscored the need for integrated and focused actions and broader international collaboration to overcome the health challenges of the pandemic.
The meeting stressed the need for increased investment in health domain by Member States and the need for strengthening health systems in the Member States to be able to withstand future challenges. The meeting called on Member States to scale up their research capacities and build synergies with a view of building self-resilience, including developing their own vaccines and medicine.
International partners reiterated their readiness to further support the OIC General Secretariat’s health agenda by carrying out joint programmes and activities.
