Kuwait health ministry opens media center of 39th GCC ministerial health council

Health Ministry Undersecretary Khaled Al-Sahlawi inaugurated Monday the media center of the 39th session of the Health Ministers Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. The media center, located at the Jumeirah Hotel, will provide reporters and journalists covering the ministerial meeting with logistical and technical support required to broadcast and dispatch their reports about the event. During the inaugural speech, Al-Sahlawi said that the ministerial meeting, themed "Together to Combat Non-communicable Diseases - A Developmental Priority," will focus on the Gulf countries' efforts to counter the spread of the non-communicable diseases. He added the conferees will also discuss the World Health Organization's (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the endorse GCC centers for medical examination of expatriate workers. The ministers will review detailed reports on the activities of the Executive Office and its achievements during the previous session. They will follow up the implementation of the previous sessions' resolutions and recommendations, and the latest scientific developments aimed to improve health services in GCC member states. A non-communicable disease, or NCD, is a medical condition or disease, which by definition is non-infectious and non-transmissible among people. NCDs may be chronic diseases of long duration and slow progression, or they may result in more rapid death such as some types of sudden stroke. They include autoimmune diseases, heart disease, stroke, many cancers, asthma, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, cataracts, and more. According to WHO, the noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) kill more than 36 million people each year. Nearly 80 percent of NCD deaths - 29 million - occur in low- and middle-income countries. More than nine million of all deaths attributed to NCDs occur before the age of 60; 90 percent of these "premature" deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries.