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JEDDAH – The Stop TB (tuberculoses) Group of Saudi Arabia will launch its annual campaign here March 15.

The campaign, to continue till March 26, under the patronage of Prince Mishal Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah, is being organized with the cooperation of the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization in six major malls with new and innovative ideas for combating this deadly disease.

This year, the motto for the Stop TB 2010 campaign has been chosen by the World Health Organization which is introducing new ways to diagnose the disease and develop other research, Mohammed Bakhrieba, the founder of the Stop TB Group of Saudi Arabia, told Saudi Gazette.

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JEDDAH – A Saudi delegation is taking part in the 6th International Festival for Road Safety Campaigns and International Forum for Young Drivers in Tunisia starting Thursday.

According to Dr. Intisar Felemban, a Saudi female participant, the three-day gathering aims to collect and exchange experiences and innovative ideas related to road safety.

“The gathering is a good chance for road safety associations members and experts to exchange thoughts about their experiments,” Dr. Felemban told Saudi Gazette.

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DAMMAM – Over 70 percent of Saudi men and women are overweight, according to Dr. Jafar Al-Qallaf of the Saudi Diabetes and Endocrine Association in the Eastern Province.

Speaking at a symposium on diabetes, nutrition and obesity last Friday, Dr. Al-Qallaf said that social and economic changes in developing countries had led to the problem of excess weight and obesity reaching the “scale of a global epidemic”.

“The World Health Organization estimates there to be 1.6 billion overweight persons over the age of 15,” Dr. Al-Qallaf said. “About 400 million of them are obese.”

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RIYADH – The World Health Organization (WHO) has awarded Abha a certificate recognizing it as a healthy city

Mayor of Abha Hamdan Bin Faris Al-Asaimi received the certificate from WHO Wednesday. The Asir Governorate is a founding member of the WHO Standards of Healthy Cities Program.

The Healthy Cities Program, which was first conceived in 1984 at a symposium held in Canada, is a global movement with networks established in all six WHO regions. The healthy cities concept is based on community participation and partnership between municipal authorities, civil society, individuals and all other stakeholders to take action to improve health, the environment and the quality of life in cities. -SPA

AL-KHOBAR – The Saudi Diabetes & Endoctrine Association (SDEA) will honor and recognize individuals and organizations who supported the national campaign in the management and fight against diabetes during a ceremony to be held on Feb. 25, 2010 in Al-Khobar.

To be honored and recognized are Saudi citizens, medical staff from various hospitals and medical institutions, leading businessmen, lay leaders and volunteers, non-government organizations, and contributing companies and establishments.

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JEDDAH – A World Health Organization (WHO) delegation Saturday visited the headquarters of the International Islamic Relief Organization of Saudi Arabia (IIROSA) and discussed issues involved in providing health care for the needy, especially children, in some poor countries.

Dr. Ayoub Khawaldah, WHOs Nutrition Adviser, and Dr. Fouad Hamed Mojlad, Regional Adviser for External and International Relations of the international health organization, met with Dr. Adnan Bin Khalil Basha, Secretary General of IIROSA, and discussed topics related to the strengthening of relations between the two organizations.

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JEDDAH: The only clinic for visually impaired people in Saudi Arabia has been closed since last month because there is no trained optometrist or ophthalmologist to help run it.

The clinic’s last optometrist, who was there for the last two years, left as she received a better job offer elsewhere.

Mohammad Tawfiq Bellow, who is the founder and general manager of Ebsar Foundation which runs the clinic, says getting the right person is not easy as special training is required. Those who are trained prefer to work in hospitals because of better perks and financial security.

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RIYADH – Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Rabea, Minister of Health, has ordered the formation of a multi-dimentional National Committee for the prevention of Al-Khurma fever, Dr. Khalid Marghlani, the ministry spokesperson said here Sunday.
Dr. Ziayd Ahmed Meemesh, Undersecretary for Preventive Medicine in the ministry would head the committee, Marghlani said.
The committee has been tasked with following up updates on Al-Khurma virus.
It will also participate in the development of plans and recommendations for combating the disease, its prevention and its awareness, said Marghlani.
The virus (genus Flavivirus, AHFV) was recently identified as the agent of a viral hemorrhagic fever in Saudi Arabia and characterized serologically and genetically as a variant genotype of Kyasanur Forest disease virus (KFDV).
Since viral diagnosis and vaccine development may be hindered by genetic diversity, this study was intended to address AHFV genetic heterogeneity.
Eleven strains isolated from hospitalized patients from 1994 to 1999 in Saudi Arabia were sequenced in the envelope, NS3, and NS5 genes. Homologous sequences were compared and used to look for patterns reflecting specific evolution associated with spatiality, temporality, infection pathway, and disease prognosis.
Genetic analyses showed low diversity, which suggests a slow microevolution.
Evaluation of divergence times showed that AHFV and KFDV ancestral lineage diverged 66-77 years ago, and the diversity observed within the studied AHFV strains reflected a 4 to 72-year period of evolution.
Earlier last week, Dr. Al-Rabea launched an international workshop on the national plan to discuss Al-Khurma fever with participation of experts from the World Health Organization. – SPA

JEDDAH – The world has been challenged by King Abdullah’s initiative to continue to build bridges between civilizations and cultures, according to UN High Representative of the Alliance of Civilization (AoC), Jorge Sampaio, the former president of Portugal.
Sampaio said this during a lecture he delivered at the headquarters of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) here Wednesday. The lecture was attended by a number of officials from the Saudi ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture and Information, the World Health Organization and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Speaking on how best to proceed in the quest for interfaith dialogue and international understanding, Sampaio said, “I think we have to take into account various levels of opinion. One of course is the level of the representatives of the churches or the faiths involved. Others are the points of view of intellectuals and cultural organizations.”
He added that it is important to avoid cultural misconceptions. “I don’t think when you have a statement or the expression of an expert opinion coming from one society that it necessarily represents that society,” said Sampaio. “I always say that this does not represent the society, it represents the particular man or woman expressing a particular point of view. We have to understand this and be attentive so that misconceptions do not arise.”
“I have heard many arguments and I understand what people are trying to say. But please let us not get stuck in the usual debate. Let us instead try to find the way forward so that we can learn to understand others,” he said.
The OIC Secretary-General Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said that the lecture has special significance because it was held as part of the OIC’s observation of the year 2010 as the international year for rapprochement for intercultural and inter-religious dialogue as provided for under UN resolution A/62/90, which is the outcome of the initiative presented by Kazakhstan, an OIC member state.
He also said, “Although our mandate is to cater mainly for the interests of the Muslim world, in many instances we cater for the concerns of all humans from different cultures and faiths.” He added that the OIC and the Alliance of Civilization share the same goals and objectives, and travel the same journey for the better of humanity.
Dr. Ihsanoglu said that since 1998 the OIC has been a pioneer in advocating the dialogue of civilizations as an alternative to the theories of clash among civilizations.
The OIC’s sincere efforts in advocating the dialogue of civilizations is rooted in Islam’s sacred scriptures, he pointed out.
Islamic teachings go beyond and transcend mere dialogue, to attain familiarity and cordiality among all human kind, he said. – SG

RIYADH: The Kingdom will join the other member countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) to observe World Cancer Day on Thursday.

Cancer can be prevented too, is the theme of this years program, Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Mirghalani told Arab News Wednesday.

He pointed out that 40 percent of cases of cancer could be cured provided they are detected and treated early.

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