Islamic Development Bank holds health workshop

A two-day regional consultation workshop on the health sector policy study of the Islamic Development Bank concluded on Friday. The event held in Istanbul focused on reviewing and validating findings for the Asia, Middle East and North Africa regions with experts from the member countries in attendance. Sami Faruqi, division manager of water resource and management at the bank, stressed the need for closer cooperation and more efficient utilization of resources, in his opening remarks according to a press statement released after the event. Another keynote speaker, Ahmet Sait Altin, an EU specialist at the Turkish Health Ministry, referred to the crucial role that the workshop plays in shaping the health policies of the bank. He referred to Turkey's long-standing cooperation with the bank especially its Alliance to Fight Avoidable Blindness (AFAB) project. The event came at time when the Jeddah-based bank is restructuring to become more effective to the development needs of its member countries through a dynamic agenda which underlines partnership, science, technology, and innovation as core drivers. Health officials and experts from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Turkey, Maldives, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Lebanon, Bangladesh and Oman took part in the interactive sessions. Representatives from key partner organizations including World Health Organization (WHO), Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC), and Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) also participated. With 57 member countries across four continents, the bank’s policies and operations impact the lives of one out of every five people on the planet.