As a Minister of Health, you should create a kind of two-pronged approach and make some quick wins. Then you gather the support of the public and at the same time the support of the policy leaders.

The population for Bahrain is about 1 million, 600. You can say it’s manageable but for us, we still have challenges. It is not the quantity, it is about quality.

We believe in equity and equality; equity for whoever lives in Oman, whether an Omani or a non-Omani. They deserve the best health care available.

The Ministry of Health is the focal point, but health concerns everyone. We focus on prevention rather than the curative, which is also important; but we need to focus on primary health care.

In 2003, we defined a basic package of health services to everybody. As a result of that, maternal mortality, infant mortality and under-five mortality declined dramatically.

Making a policy and dreaming about it is one thing, but implementing it is another. In the last couple of years, we have deepened extensively our understanding about the ‘how’ part of UHC policy.

Our region is unique in terms of emergencies and disasters, either manmade or natural. When it comes to health, we must act as one body to bring unity, regardless of differences of opinions and directions of member states

It’s a wonderful commitment from all political leaders to sign the UHC2030 Global Compact to achieve UHC. To operationalize this, WHO stands ready to support countries’ policies and implementation plans.