Health Ministry, IAEA review means to boost cooperation

AMMAN — Minister of Health Feras Al Hawari and Deputy Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Hua Liu on Monday discussed increasing cooperation in the health sector.

During the meeting, Hawari stressed the ministry’s commitment to treating cancer patients within global standards and medical protocols, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The minister also referred to the ongoing cooperation between the IAEA, the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission, and the Saudi Fund for Development, which included establishing a new radiation oncology building at Al Bashir Hospital and installing two linear accelerators, an axial tomography scanner, and treatment planning systems.

The nuclear medicine department at Al Bashir Hospital has also been upgraded and installed with a gamma scanner, a device that accurately diagnoses diseases, he said.

The minister and the IAEA official agreed that 50 per cent of the cost of a piezotronic device, which uses a highly advanced method to detect cancerous and non-cancerous diseases, will be covered, in addition to sending an expert from IAEA to train the department’s staff on using the device.

Hawari and Liu also discussed the possibility of installing a third linear accelerator at the hospital to reach the optimal operating level in the department and avoid resorting to patient waiting lists or transfers to other hospitals when one accelerator is under maintenance.

They also stressed the need to further enhance cooperation to train and exchange medical personnel and build their capacities to meet the medical standards and protocols and keep pace with medical and technical developments.