Muscat: Oman is seeking expertise from across the globe to chalk out a roadmap for its ambitious 2050 Health Vision.
"About 46 handpicked experts would help us chalk out a plan that would bring health services in the country on a par with the best international practices," Dr. Ali Talib Ali Al Hinai, Undersecretary for Planning Affairs at the Ministry of Health (MoH), told Gulf News.
To prepare a draft for the four-day International Conference, which will be held starting on May 1, a three-day local workshop is being held from Sunday in Muscat. "Experts from Muscat will prepare a draft that would be taken up for discussion during the International Conference," he added.
The 46 experts from Western countries, including Canada, UK, the US, New Zealand Australia would discuss 13 themes to take the health services in Oman to a higher level.
"The role of these experts," Dr. Al Hinai added, "would not end with the conference but they would continue to play a role in implementing the health policies."
He further said that all stakeholders would have a role to play in preparing and implementing the 2050 Health Vision.
According to the official, the biggest challenges facing the health system is human resources and tertiary care hospitals. "We have done well with our primary and secondary care but need to expand tertiary care," he reckons.
Talking about the human resources, he said that the progress in the allied health services was good with 67 per cent nationals working as the nursing staff in the country.
"We need to boost the number of Omani doctors but it would take time," he explained, adding that 30 per cent of the doctors employed with the MoH were Omanis.
He said that a private hospital for organ transplant was coming up in the southern region of the country and land has been identified for the Medical City in Muscat.
