By Abdellatif Sharaa

 KUWAIT: Health Minister Dr Ahmad Al-Awadhi said the health system must be supported under the umbrella of comprehensive health coverage to confront challenges the system encounters and achieve the goals of the sustainable development plan 2030 and Kuwait vision 2035.

Awadhi, who spoke during the opening of Kuwait’s First International Family Medicine Conference which was organized by Kuwait Association of Family and General Practitioners Thursday, also announced the approval of a new primary health-care administrative structure. He also pointed out an increase in the number of seats for those specializing in family medicine at the Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialties. The two decisions, he said, are in alignment with developments in the medical and health administration fields and will reflect positively for the service provider and receiver.

In his speech, Awadhi stressed the importance of conferences that focus on enhancing the medical culture and choosing the topics that discuss the most modern international developments in the field.

He spoke about the importance of the family medicine specialty, describing it as one of the first defense lines in the health system as well as the health of the patient, family and society.

Awadhi congratulated the establishment of the Gulf Family Medicine Society (GFMS), which aims at supporting the gulf health action and reflecting the role of family physicians. He thanked the Kuwait Family Medicine Society (KFMS) for working towards and supporting establishing GFMS, which is headquartered in Kuwait.

Head of the Gulf Society for Family Doctors and Chairman of the Conference Dr Mohammad Al-Azmi said investing in family medicine reflects on the health system as a whole as it is the first stage in providing medical services. He said the conference deals with topics that concern the future of family medicine and discussing the most important challenges, hopes and ambitions to enhance this specialty and build meaningful partnerships and have effective dialogues.

The conference discussed the challenges of information technology and artificial Intelligence systems, in addition to the world-wide shortage in human cadres and qualifying them to meet the needs of the specialty.

Deputy Chairman of Saudi Arabian Family Medicine Doctors Society Dr Ashraf Amir said the Gulf Family Medicine Society aims at providing support and enabling the family medicine practitioners to lead effective health systems, exchange expertise and form the health policies that improve the quality of graduates.

Head of the World Organization of Family Medicine for the Eastern Mediterranean region Dr Abdulaziz Al-Mahrezi said the organization aims at improving quality of life and enhancing the standard of comprehensive health care for individuals through strengthening the role of family medicine.

He said the organization encourages cooperation and communication between entities that are interested in family medicine at the local, regional and international levels. He said the organization includes 131 countries around the world, 15 of which are in the Eastern Mediterranean region with around 500,000 family doctors as members.