Under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, the first Arab Conference on the Role of Arab Immigrant Health Professionals in Supporting Health Systems in Arab Countries concluded. Held over 19 and 20 October the conference was organised by the League of Arab States in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Arab Council for Health Specialisations, the United Nations Population Fund for Arab States, and the World Health Organisation Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.
At the conclusion of the conference, the Amman Declaration was issued, in which the Arab health ministers and participants extended their profound gratitude and appreciation to His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein for his generous patronage of this pioneering event in the Arab region.
In the declaration, the Arab health ministers and participants emphasised the need to formulate a comprehensive Arab strategy to harness the expertise of Arab immigrant health professionals in bolstering the health sectors of the Arab region. They underscored the importance of activating their role, particularly in the governance of migration, and creating an enabling environment that would allow Arab health professionals abroad to contribute effectively to their countries of origin. Additionally, they stressed the importance of sustained coordination between the Arab ministries of health, the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States (Social Affairs Sector), the Arab Council for Health Specialisations, the United Nations Population Fund, and the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.
A key outcome of the conference was the commitment to follow up on these efforts by establishing a comprehensive database of Arab health professionals abroad, across all specialties. This database would play a critical role in enhancing the contribution of these professionals to the implementation of Arab and regional health programmes and strategies, while also drawing on their expertise to strengthen various health sectors, particularly in areas such as humanitarian relief, emergency medicine, training, public health, and telemedicine. The ultimate goal is to reinforce and support the resilience of Arab health systems in the face of current and future challenges.
The declaration further urged the ministries of health in Arab countries to design programmes aimed at mobilising the expertise of Arab immigrant health professionals to support the training and capacity-building of healthcare workers, enhance and develop healthcare services and systems, and advance scientific research within the Arab region. It stressed the importance of developing and implementing national policies that attract Arab immigrant health professionals to contribute to the development and improvement of healthcare services in their countries of origin.
Additionally, the declaration called upon the Arab Council for Health Specialties to launch an initiative that would empower Arab immigrant health professionals to play an active role in specialised education and in building human capacities within the health sector across Arab countries. It encouraged health, higher education, and scientific research institutions to collaborate with the ministries of health to propose similar initiatives in their respective fields of expertise. These initiatives would aim to leverage the knowledge and skills of Arab expatriates to strengthen training programmes, build the capacities of healthcare personnel, and improve healthcare services and scientific research in the Arab world.
Moreover, the declaration highlighted the importance of periodically organising the Arab Conference on the Role of Arab Migrant Health Professionals in Supporting Health Systems in Arab Countries, under the auspices of the League of Arab States. This would be done in coordination with the Arab Council for Health Specialties, the United Nations Population Fund for Arab States, the World Health Organisation Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, the Association of Arab Universities, the Arab Organisation for Administrative Development, the Arab Labour Organisation, and other relevant international and regional organisations. The conference would serve as a platform to foster collaboration on the issue of health worker migration and to maximise the benefits of their expertise in strengthening the health sectors in Arab countries.
