Algeria is preparing to develop a common strategy, involving several ministerial departments, to ensure the health security of the population, Health Minister Abdelhak Saihi announced Monday in Algiers, recalling Algeria’s international commitments in this regard.
“There is an agreement between our ministry and those of Trade, Agriculture, Industry and the Environment to develop a common strategy to ensure the health protection of the citizen,” the minister told the press, on the sidelines of a meeting on food safety, organised by the National Agency for Health Safety, in partnership with the Ministry of Health.
He explained that this strategy “is essentially based on prevention” against various health challenges, citing cancer in particular.
He recalled that Algeria has established the right to health, which clearly involves the obligation to ensure the protection of the health of all citizens, he added, citing among other things, health risks, epidemiological and resistant diseases.
In this regard, the Minister added that Algeria grants “great importance” to raising awareness against these global threats, by including them in its national health system, which has led to a political commitment materialised by its adherence to international conventions relevant to health.
He recalled in the same vein the commitment of the State to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by 2030, through the implementation of “concrete measures to improve the health of citizens, with the involvement of other sectors”.
The minister welcomed, in this regard, the certifications issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to Algeria after having defeated paludism in 2016, maternal and newborn tetanus in 2018 and malaria in 2019. It is also part of the global strategy to fight tropical diseases, hepatitis and HIV-AIDS, while the country is preparing to eradicate trachoma and schistosomiasis during the current year.
Mr Saihi also recalled the assessment carried out in March 2022 by international bodies, which demonstrated Algeria’s capacity to guarantee prevention, monitoring and rapid response to health risks.
