CAIRO: Fahd Al-Jalajel, Saudi Arabia’s minister of health, on Monday joined the 70th session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean, which runs until Oct. 12.

The committee convenes every year at the beginning of October and is attended by all Eastern Mediterranean countries. Member states discuss and endorse regional policies, activities, and other plans during the sessions.

At this year’s gathering, which was also known as RC70, discussions focused on strategies to mitigate and overcome primary health challenges experienced by countries in the Eastern Mediterranean. Members discussed ways to secure a healthier future and improve the quality of life for future generations, state news agency the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Among the keynote speakers were Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director general, and Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, the WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean.

Al-Jalajel held discussions with numerous heads of delegations from member states, including Al-Mandhari, on the sidelines of the event.

A pre-RC70 technical meeting was convened before the inaugural session and discussed how to minimize morbidity and mortality due to trauma in the region. The design and implementation of primary healthcare-oriented models of care as a core component of reaching universal health coverage, among other matters, were also discussed.