Health

As Mongolia sits on the verge of a resource-related boom, government officials are stressing that the Human Development Fund (HDF) established to channel revenues from mining projects to health and education is fulfilling its role.

The public and private sectors of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) are combining to combat one of the greatest health problems facing the emirate – diabetes – with both the cause and the effects of the illness being targeted. According to data from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), more than 32.5m people in the Middle East have developed diabetes, a figure the organisation says will jump by 80% by 2030.

As the Middle East and North Africa’s top health tourism destination, according to the World Bank, Jordan and its medical tourism sector are looking for ways to regain their competitive edge after regional unrest in 2011 impacted revenues. To confront declining medical tourist numbers, Jordan will host two major international health expos in 2012 and will also be promoting its Dead Sea region.

Faced with a steady increase in the incidence of diabetes, Brunei Darussalam’s health officials are stepping up efforts to counter the illness by boosting awareness programmes, deploying more treatment facilities and even debating a proposal that could place the Sultanate at the forefront of international research to combat the disease.

Increased levels of public-private cooperation are likely to bring high-tech solutions and better practices to Oman’s health care sector, particularly with regard to increasing ethical standards and monitoring insurance providers.

Over the past decade health care in Ghana has improved dramatically, primarily as a result of a wide variety of government-led initiatives and programmes. Projects overseen by the Ministry of Health (MoH) in recent years have included upgrading the country’s public health infrastructure in an effort to streamline and improve medical services on offer; expanding the scope of the government’s disease control and immunisation programmes; and encouraging the ongoing development of the private sector.