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First regional health policy conference opens in Egypt
08:26, September 10, 2007
The first regional conference of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Health Policy Forum opened on Sunday in Cairo to tackle the role of health in economic growth, the most important health challenges facing the region and health policies.
With the theme of "Better Policies for Better Health," the conference aimed at improving health conditions in low and middle- income countries in the Middle East and mitigating adverse effects of diseases, according to the Forum's charter.
Over 100 participants from about 20 countries and international organizations are expected to talk about the increase of chronic diseases, and new and emerging diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, in the MENA.
Moreover, social health insurance, quality of care and other important subjects to improve the performance of health systems in the region will also be discussed in the two-day conference.
Egyptian Health Ministry First Under-Secretary Nasser Rasmi told Xinhua that his country expects to expand the health insurance system from the current about 54 percent to 80 percent of the total population by 2012.
The priority for the medical institutions should be "save the people," instead of making money only, said Rasmi, although he admitted that money can help medical institutions improve the quality of service.
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