2016 marked the 40th anniversary of the first meeting of the Gulf Health Council , in Riyadh , Saudi Arabia . Today , regular meetings are held to discuss the health issues of concern in the states . Part of the Council is Gulf Joint Procurement programme , which ensures the standardisation of the medicines directory and medical supplies of all specialities across the GCC
The Gulf Health Council is a regional technical specialised organisation with its membership restricted only to the Cooperation Council States , plus Yemen . Within this organisation sits Gulf Joint Procurement programme . “ The Council enjoys a legal impartiality and financial and administrative independence ,” advises Fatthi Alkathiry , Director at Gulf Joint Procurement .
The Health Council of the GCC aims to develop cooperation and coordination among member states in the preventive , curative and rehabilitative health fields , as well as other mutually beneficial activities .
The idea of the joint procurement for medicine began in February
1976 , when the Ministers of Health of the GCC states requested that the Council form a technical committee among the states . The committee ’ s main objective was to study the possibility of member states benefiting from direct control , like the processes in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait .
A second key objective was to standardise the purchase of certain medicines . “ The set objective at that time was to study the development of a unified system for the registration and control of medicines and the development of a guide for medicines in the GCC states ,” Alkathiry explains . “ The Gulf Health Council for Joint Procurement seeks to standardise the directory
92 February 2018