The Department of Geriatrics and Long-Term Care at Hamad Medical Corporation has been selected by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a Collaborating Center for Healthy Aging and Dementia.
The initiative aims to achieve benefits for both parties, such as launching important projects and programs, enabling advanced opportunities for exchanging information, developing technical cooperation between other international institutions, and facilitating access to better funding for research and development programs.
Dr. Hanadi Al-Hamad, Leader of the Healthy Aging Program in the National Health Strategy and Head of Geriatrics and Long-Term Care Department at Hamad Medical Corporation, has been appointed as Head of the Collaboration Centre.
WHO Collaboration Centers are institutions appointed by the WHO Director-General to carry out activities in support of WHO programmes.
There are currently more than 800 cooperation centers with the World Health Organization in more than 80 Member States that work with the organization in the fields of nursing, occupational health, infectious diseases, nutrition, mental health, chronic diseases and health technologies.
On this occasion, HE Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health, praised this unique cooperation between the State of Qatar represented by the Ministry of Public Health and the World Health Organization, which is the third of its kind, which confirms the strong focus and commitment to local health care.
The previous cooperation of the World Health Organization with the State of Qatar included the establishment of a cooperation center for epidemiological analysis of sexually transmitted HIV disease. "AIDS" and Hepatitis C Virus with Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, and the WHO Collaboration Center for Tobacco Consumption Control with the Smoking Control Center at Hamad Medical Corporation, which was re-designated as a Collaboration Center in 2021.
For her part, Dr. Hanadi Al-Hamad, Medical Director of Rumailah Hospital and Qatar Rehabilitation Center, said that the Taawon Center will provide support to the World Health Organization by contributing to knowledge and research related to healthy aging, such as the importance of comprehensive care and promoting health education and prevention.
She added that reducing the risk of dementia, care and treatment is another important aspect of joint cooperation, which will be greatly supported by the Taawon Center, noting that work is currently underway in the field of research and promotion of comprehensive care for patients with dementia, as the results are shared with the World Health Organization and other centers. Other collaborations interested in this field.
In turn, Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said that this appointment will help develop the existing cooperation efforts between the relevant WHO teams and HMC teams.
He added that this cooperation supports the achievements of the strategic goals that the World Health Organization has been planning at the regional and international levels for more than 70 years. The goals are related to developing and strengthening national and regional institutional capacities, and strengthening the scientific legitimacy of its global health work.
