Kuwait city: Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), participated at the first Gulf Conference on Pediatrics, hosted by the State of Kuwait. The conference was attended by Dr. Ahmed Abdulwahab Al Awadhi, Minister of Health of Kuwait.
According to Bahrain News Agency, Albudaiwi highlighted that the health of Gulf children is a strategic priority for building a stable future for the GCC states. He stressed that Gulf health efforts are not limited to awareness but are part of an integrated system under the Gulf Health Strategy for 2026-2030.
The GCC Secretary-General stated that the GCC states consider human health a strategic investment in development, noting that the number of doctors has reached around 185,000 by 2023, working across 863 hospitals and 3,400 health centres and complexes, reflecting the readiness of Gulf health systems.
He explained that children up to the age of fourteen number around 7.9 million, in addition to 2.19 million young men and women aged fifteen to nineteen, which requires enhancing preventive and awareness programmes targeting this age group as "the wealth of our nations and the pillar of development."
He underscored key joint Gulf initiatives related to child health, including the "Get Immunised, Be Reassured" campaign, which helped reduce infant mortality by 40% over fifty years, and the "Breathe Consciously" campaign, as well as efforts focusing on adolescent mental health and the organisation of events such as Gulf Children's Day, Gulf Immunisation Week, Gulf Diabetes Week, and Gulf Red Crescent Day.
Albudaiwi emphasised that the Gulf Health Strategy aims to strengthen health security by raising life expectancy, reducing mortality, and preventing non-communicable diseases, calling for enhanced research partnerships, investment in artificial intelligence, and exchange of data and expertise among Gulf reference centres.