RIYADH — Minister of Health Dr. Fahd Bin Abdulrahman Al-Jalajel said the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly and negatively affected many existing health systems.

This came during a speech he delivered — remotely — during the G-20 Ministerial Meeting of Health Ministers, currently taking place in Jakarta, Indonesia.

“In order to ensure the effectiveness of sustainable systems in addressing the effects of this pandemic, the world needs to focus on building and boosting global systems, strengthening the international health regulations and the ‘One Health’ approach, and ensuring sustainable funding for prevention and response efforts to global health security challenges,” he said.

The minister congratulated the Indonesian government for its presidency of this year's G-20 meeting, announcing the Kingdom's support for the Indonesian presidency as well as its support for the priorities of the Health Working Group at its current session.

He added that the Kingdom stresses the importance of continued coordination and joint action among the G-20 health ministers, and supports the permanent working group for disaster rapid response and electronic documentation of health conditions for travelers using the latest technology.

He pointed out that the G-20 can play a leading role in addressing the gaps shown in the Global Tuberculosis Report 2021, highlighting that case detection and treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis is one of the biggest.

Dr. Al-Jalajel added that the Kingdom will remain committed to global participation in antimicrobial resistance and the "One Health" approach, urging the G-20 Health Working Group to continue work on these topics. — SPA