Saudi Arabia hosts WHO chief and health ministers from around the world

Photo courtesy of Saudi Ministry of Health

Saudi Arabia is hosting a two-day global summit on patient safety that kicked off on Saturday in Jeddah with the attendance of the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) and scores of health ministers from around the world, the Center for International Communication (CIC) said in a statement.

The 4th Global Ministerial Summit on Patient Safety 2019 will culminate today (March 3) with the release of the Jeddah Declaration on Patient Safety, CIC statement added.

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Through the declaration, Saudi Arabia seeks to complement efforts to promote patient safety at the international level as well as to implement a practical tool for improving safety in healthcare systems.

The Jeddah Declaration will highlight important recommendations, especially regarding low-to-middle-income countries, according to Saudi health officials. Patient safety also will be among the issues Saudi Arabia plans to propose adding to the agenda of the 2020 G20 Summit to be held in Riyadh.

During the summit, the Saudi Minister of Health, Dr. Tawfig AlRabiah also announced the launch of the “Med Consult” application, in collaboration with the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Med Consult is a medical consulting application that facilitates visual communication between health practitioners in less developed countries and consultants from around the world.

This will help to enhance patient safety by reducing diagnostic errors, increasing effectiveness and sharing experiences with health practitioners around the world, CIC statement added.