As of 6 May, Qatar administered 7,609,178 vaccine doses.
Qatar has been elected for the executive board membership of World Health Organization (WHO) to represent the Eastern Mediterranean for three years, the Gulf state’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) announced on Saturday.
The statement came during the World Health Assembly, just days ahead of the 34-member executive board’s meeting, set to take place between 31 May and 1 June in Geneva.
Qatar will be represented by its Minister of Public Health Dr. Hanan Al Kuwari between 21 and 30 May.
“The Board’s meetings discuss a number of important topics, most notably the outcome of the seventy-sixth World Health Assembly and the report of the Committee on Health Emergency Prevention,” the MoPH’s statement read.
On the same day, the United Nations agency granted Qatar the WHO Award for World No Tobacco Day for its success in making the 2022 FIFA World Cup “a smoke-free tournament by applying strict measures” at stadiums and fan areas.
“The award comes as a culmination of MOPH and the concerned authorities’ efforts to make the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 activities smoke-free by applying strict anti-smoking measures inside and outside the stadiums, especially in the fan areas to ensure the enjoyment of the tournament for guests with smoke-free air,” the ministry said.
Dr. Kholoud Al-Mutaweh, Head of the Non-Communicable Diseases Department at MoPH, added that Qatar is working on combating the use of tobacco through multiple initiatives. Dr. Al-Mutaweh has served as the National Tobacco Control Liaison Officer since 2012.
Last year, Qatar’s health minister announced that the country’s tobacco smoke pollution is “nearly non-existent”. She also attributed the low smoke pollution to the strict measures authorities take to limit smoking.
Doha has several tobacco control centres scattered across the country, including ones in Al Wakra hospital and one in Hazm Mebaireek hospital.
Previously in 2021, the Hamad Medical Corporation’s Tobacco Control Centre saw a 300% surge in people visiting the facility to quit smoking during the pandemic.
In 2019, the Qatari government imposed a 100% tax rate on all tobacco products.
The latest developments comes as Qatar’s health sector has continued to be highlighted on a global scale since the outbreak of Covid-19.
Earlier this month, Dr. Al Kuwari said Doha has since been recognised “among the leading countries in the world in a number of key Covid-19 indicators.”
“For example, Qatar has one of the lowest Covid-19 mortality rates in the world thanks to highly effective medical care provided to patients with Covid-19 and to one of the highest vaccination rates in the world,” Dr. Al Kuwari explained to Qatar’s state news agency.
According to WHO, there have been 511,932 confirmed Covid cases and 690 deaths between 3 January 2020 to 24 May 2023 in Qatar.
As of 6 May, Qatar administered 7,609,178 vaccine doses.