By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 1 . . .[restrict]September 2013:
With only 9 days to go until the opening day of the 10th Libyan Healthcare Exhibition 2013, to be held from 10-12 September at the Tripoli International Fairgrounds, organizers say that they are expecting a large turnout.
The exhibition is supported by the Ministry of Health and is considered the biggest annual health event in Libya.
The 10th Libyan Healthcare Exhibition 2013 will also host IDEC 2013 – the 3rd International Dental Conference and Exhibition.
Organizers, Waha Expo, say they anticipate a large turnout with exhibitors from over 30 countries, including from Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, USA, Egypt, Tunisia, Greece and Korea. These will include the world’s leading manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors. There are 6 country pavilions.
They also expect 3000 – 4000 visitors per day from more than 20 countries. The exhibition also includes workshops and commercial presentations and social programs during the show which will include the presentation of 200 scientific papers.
Of equal importance, the organizers stress, is the access available to exhibitors to the Libyan Ministry of Health officials and decision-makers on future health policy-making and spending.
The healthcare exhibition is considered very important in view of the poor standard of the Libyan healthcare system. After the February 17th Revolution, the expectations of Libyans of the living standards that they require and the kind of health service they should enjoy have risen immensely. And there is great pressure on the government to improve the health system.
“The existing hospitals and health facilities need urgent solutions and renovations – that is what we are doing”, stressed Health Minister Nureddin Dughman in an exclusive interview with Libya Herald.
“There has been much invisible work done in maintenance and renovation”, said the Minister explaining that LD 100 million has been spent recently. “We are also building health centres where none had existed before. This all contributes to the improvement of basic healthcare in Libya”.
On the one hand, the state is expected to invest heavily, in the billions, in order to upgrade the old dilapidated system and provide a healthcare system that is appropriate for a country of Libya’s GDP in 2013.
“In 2012 LD 2.3 bn was spent on the war wounded and healthcare for Libyans abroad, and it is expected to be about LD 1 bn in 2013”, the Minister revealed.
“We have signed an agreement with the EU to establish a Health Service System a few months ago. This will be a 4-year programme aimed at establishing a Libyan Health System. There will be a workshop held for the medical sector to discuss the various contending approaches and hopefully come out with what will best work for Libya”, Dughman explained.
“This will include topics such as medical ethics, training and the workshop will hopefully come up with a framework for the future to present to the GNC”, the Minister added.
Equally, under the new Libya, the private sector is expected to expand at great speed now that it is free to play its full role in the new free market enterprise Libyan economy.
With regards to private sector healthcare in Libya, Minister Dughman hoped “that the private health sector in Libya will develop like that in Tunisia and Jordan and be able to compete with them. I hope that it can launch health tourism in Libya attracting visitors from neighbouring countries”.
For more details go to: www.maf.ly
For the complete exclusive interview with Health Minister Nureddin Dughman see the August/September edition of Libya Herald’s Business Eye magazine. The edition has a focus on the health sector.
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