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In an interview with Times of Oman, John Dalli, who was in Oman to participate in the recently held Oman Health Summit said, “All of us (countries) are faced with the same problem – aging populations, accessibility and sustainability. So the common solutions are heavier investment in prevention, decentralising healthcare pushing cure away from the tertiary into the primary sector with interoperable facilities and investment in technology, especially eHealth.”
Stressing that a prevention policy to keep people away from the need of taking medicines should be given top priority, Dalli said, “Sustainability of health services is a nightmare that all countries are facing.
What we need to do is invest more in prevention. This is the key in sustainability. When I talk about my own objective in Europe I say that it is to keep people out of the hospital beds. Therefore, we have to educate people about the harm of tobacco, obesity, abuse of alcohol. We also need to ensure that we have screening processes in place to prevent illness in the future.”
He noted that this would not only pay off economically but would also ensure that people suffer less.
Praising Oman’s health sector, he said, “I have seen that health systems in Oman is quite pyramidal and spread in the right way. This helps a lot in reducing costs.”
Talking about the cooperation between Oman and European Commission in the health sector, Dalli said, “We do have certain initiatives in the region. In effect we have a health security project that has been developed for the region, with Oman being in the pilot project of this initiative. We should be finalising and publishing the results of our experiences later on this year.”
Stating that the European Union wants to expand and extend its relationship with this region and with Oman in particular, the commissioner said: “We see how Oman has been moving positively in the health sector. We think that with our cooperation, sharing of experiences, spreading best practices that are evident in Europe, Oman and countries in the region can speed up its development. It is already well developed and this is a country which has been taking healthcare seriously. But their next step is going to require bigger effort and we are here to help if they need.”
Development of consumer and empowerment policies
Sharing details about the areas the two countries can cooperate in, Dalli said, “We can help Oman analyse what we are doing in various sectors, for example in the eHealth sector. Outside of health, we can also help in the development of consumer and empowerment policies. I know Oman is very interested in developing a common consumer protection law along with other countries in the GCC.
We have done that in Europe and we can help. We are still improving what we have done but can still share our experiences with Oman and the region in this regard.” About cooperation in the research arena, Dalli said: “I can see the potential for developing research initiatives in this region, especially in Oman. This region is very active in research. There is a political willingness and resources are available to conduct research. I believe that we can make a lot of cooperative projects together.”
Talking of private and public sector partnership in the health sector, he said, “I think it is very important. Merging of the two sectors is important because the government can give financial support and the private sector can offer a lot of expertise. The two can then merge into offering better health services.”
On how countries can come together to fight non-communicable diseases, he said, “When I talked in the General Assembly of the UN in New York last week I said that we will be working on all types of sicknesses but our emphasis will be on the health determinants – we have to control the use of tobacco, control obesity (because if you are tackling these two you are tackling all illnesses).
“The EU is committed to reducing the heavy burden of non-communicable diseases across the world. Non-communicable diseases already account for 63 per cent per cent of deaths worldwide. Their heavy impact on people’s health, as well on economic development, requires efficient coordinated action at global level.”
The EU is involved in a lot of initiatives that make tobacco less attractive and can help the region tackle the issue. Dalli said, “We are planning on new regulation on tobacco that will be broaden the scope of the existing regulation since it will cover the products that are not tobacco like the electronic cigarettes. We have developed a very good campaign against the use of tobacco which we can offer can anyone in the region to use.
"We don’t charge royalty rights and they can use it free. We are providing a support structure for those who want to quit smoking through iCoach (which is an online digital health coaching platform that helps individuals stop smoking.) We have more than 30,000 people who have enrolled for this programme.”
Insisting that eHealth can improve citizens’ lives in many ways, he said, “It will mean more coordinated screening, a more effective primary care system, fewer visits to a hospital, regular and accurate monitoring, better treatment. eHealth is a key part of Europe’s health agenda not because eHealth is trendy but because it is a means to serve citizens better and to enhance the sustainability of health systems.”
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Mrudu Naik
Quelle/Source: Times of Oman, 01.10.2011
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