Doha 13 February, 2022: More than 5000 healthcare professionals virtually attended the Qatar Health 2022 and 2nd Qatar Public Health Conference which was being held in Doha over the past four days. Taking place virtually from February 9 to 12, the conference is the result of a partnership between the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and aimed at preparing the healthcare sector for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Conference sessions focused on preparations for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and Qatar’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and hosted high profile speakers including FIFA President Mr. Gianni Infantino, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and His Excellency Hassan al-Thawadi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC).
Dr. AbdulWahab Al Musleh, Co-Chair of Qatar Health 2022 and 2nd Qatar Public Health Conference said as we countdown to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, it was more important than ever for healthcare workers to have access to the latest information and best practice.
“This is an extremely important area of healthcare delivery and I am delighted with the outcome of Qatar Health 2022 and the 2nd Public Health Conference. We had more than 5000 delegates, predominantly from across Qatar’s healthcare sector, attend this unique event. Delegates had the opportunity to learn about a range of topics associated with mass gatherings during the conference, including public health surveillance, risk and crisis communication, crowd and environmental management, prevention of infectious diseases, incident and outbreak response management, and health promotion and public information,” added Dr. Al Musleh.
Dr. Sheikh Mohamed Al-Thani Director of Public Health Department, Ministry of Public Health Co-Chair, Qatar Health 2022 and 2nd Qatar Public Health Conference said the pandemic has demonstrated to use the importance of agility and flexibility in terms of planning as well as our immediate responses to a situation.
“The healthcare and mass event landscape is very different from when Qatar was awarded the rights to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in December, 2010 and we now live every day with a pandemic - COVID-19 is still very much a part of our lives,” he said. “Healthcare teams from the Ministry of Public Health, Hamad Medical Corporation, Primary Health Care Corporation and many other healthcare providers in Qatar are working together to provide medical services to teams and travelling fans. Conference sessions highlighted the extensive planning and preparation underway to ensure their readiness for the tournament, plans which are taking into account measures related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
Dr. Hassan Al Thani, Head of Vascular and Trauma Surgery at HMC and Co-chair, Qatar Health 2022 and 2nd Qatar Public Health Conference said the conference theme was “Preparing for the 2022 World Cup and the Response to Pandemics in Qatar – a multidisciplinary team approach”.
“2022 is a momentous year for Qatar and as healthcare providers we are playing a unique and important role in delivering what will be the best FIFA World Cup the world has seen,” he said. “While many teams have already been working tirelessly to prepare for this, there is no doubt that we do so in a radically different environment than we ever anticipated. Because of this changing landscape and we wanted to ensure our colleagues had access to the latest insights, the newest research and experience in the key areas of mass gatherings and pandemics.”
The partners for Qatar Health 2022 and 2nd Qatar Public Health Conference were the Ministry of Public Health, Primary Healthcare Corporation, Qatar Red Crescent, Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar, Qatar University, Qatar Biobank, and the American Medical Association for their collaboration on the program.
The Organizing Committee also acknowledged Sanofi-Pasteur, Khaled Scientific, Aamal Medical and Mazaya for their kind support.
