The Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), launched a year-long national campaign against tuberculosis yesterday.
Ziad Al-Memish, undersecretary to the Ministry of Health for Public Health, said the national campaign is being launched to mark World Tuberculosis Day, which took place on March 24.
“Stop TB in My Lifetime” is a two-year campaign, which aims to rally civil society organizations, health-care providers and affected people to raise awareness about the disease and collaborate to take preventive measures.
Al-Memish explained that the objective of the campaign is to raise awareness about the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and preventive measures to be taken against the disease. In addition, the organizers strive to educate patients and their families on how to deal with TB.
The undersecretary underlined the fact that the ministry has been able to maintain a low incidence of the disease in the Kingdom due to concerted efforts to educate citizens and disseminate information regarding the disease.
There were 3,872 recorded TB cases in the Kingdom in 2011 and 1,366 of these cases involved non-Saudis.
Al-Memish pointed out that the number was a dramatic decline from previous years, adding that the Tuberculosis Control National Program had enhanced its services, registering a 74.9 percent success rate in treatment during 2009. The program has also contributed in reducing the incidence rates of the disease to 1 percent, as well as drug-resistance incidents to less than 0.5 percent.
He revealed that the Health Ministry supervises the program through regular field visits and highlighted that the e-reporting program was recently developed to electronically register cases across the Kingdom and facilitate cooperation between the different departments.
Naila Abu Jedai, director of respiratory diseases in the Ministry of Health, said the private sector could play an important role in this national campaign. “We are targeting public and private institutions as we seek the cooperation of everyone in this mission to combat the threats posed by this disease,” she said.
Explaining the measures taken by the ministry to combat disease, Abu Jedai said the government has been following standards set out by the WHO.
“We have advised mothers to vaccinate their newborns against the disease,” she said, pointing out that people should follow basic principles of personal hygiene to combat the infectious disease, as well as follow general guidelines for healthy living, such as living in properly ventilated shelters, receiving regular exposure to sunlight, hand-washing and eating nutritious food.
World TB Day is an opportunity to raise awareness about tuberculosis worldwide and the status of TB prevention and control efforts. It is also an opportunity to mobilize political and social commitment for further progress.
Progress toward global targets for a reduction in TB cases and deaths in recent years has been impressive. TB mortality has fallen over 40 percent worldwide since 1990 and incidence is declining. New TB tools, such as rapid diagnostics, are helping transform response to the disease.
Yearlong campaign to combat tuberculosis launched
Yearlong campaign to combat tuberculosis launched
Saudi Arabia, Estonia strengthen cyber defense cooperation
- Renowned for its leadership in digital governance, Estonia sees cybersecurity as central to its partnership potential with Saudi Arabia, building on years of regional engagement through its technology firms
RIYADH: Estonia aims to deepen defense, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence cooperation with Saudi Arabia as both nations look to advance technology‑driven defense and cybersecurity capabilities.
Hanno Pevkur, Estonia’s minister of defense, told Arab News at the World Defense Show in Riyadh on Monday that Estonia’s defense industry is eager to contribute to the Kingdom’s fast‑growing defense ecosystem.
“In the modern world, cooperation built on trust and technology is the best defense,” he said. “It is important for us to be here because we clearly see there is a possibility to increase cooperation, not only bilaterally between Saudi Arabia and Estonia, but across the region.”
At Estonia’s pavilion, a cooperation agreement was signed between an Estonian company and a Saudi firm during the show, he noted.
Pevkur also said Estonia’s defense sector has expanded rapidly in recent years, driven by technological innovation and partnership.
“Our defense industry is growing very rapidly, and we continue to see strong momentum,” he said.
He said Estonia’s strengths lie in digital and smart‑system integration rather than large‑scale weapons production.
“We will not build airplanes or tanks, but what we can do is integrate robotics, automation and drones to make existing systems smarter,” he said.
The minister said effective defense collaboration must link businesses and governments to achieve meaningful results.
“When we want to have real cooperation, we need it on all levels,” he said. “The biggest client for any defense company is the government, so we must treat this as one ecosystem where the public and private sectors work hand in hand.”
Renowned for its leadership in digital governance, Estonia sees cybersecurity as central to its partnership potential with Saudi Arabia, building on years of regional engagement through its technology firms.
Pevkur said several Estonian companies, including Nortal, have already assisted Gulf governments in developing open IT and digital‑service systems.
“As the most digitalized nation in the world, almost every service in Estonia can be done online, except getting married,” he said. “But with such digitalization, we also need strong cyberdefense.”
He said data protection and digital resilience are treated as matters of national sovereignty in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.
“Data is what we own. When someone steals that data, it becomes a serious threat,” he added. “That is why cyberdefense is not just about technology, it is about trust, sovereignty and protection.”
Pevkur said Saudi Arabia’s advances in AI offer promising opportunities for collaboration.
“I know that Saudi Arabia is doing great work when it comes to AI,” he said. “For us, as a small country with limited human resources, AI is essential not just for defense but for everyday life.”
Pevkur added that Estonia has launched a national AI strategy to promote responsible development and closer coordination between government and industry. One Estonian company, he said, has developed a system that allows a single operator to control hundreds of drones through AI.
“It is quite easy to put a weapon into the hands of a robot, but we also need to define who is accountable for its actions,” he said.
“The big question for the future is whether we can allow a war to be fought entirely by AI, or if humans must always make the final ethical decisions.”
He said in his conclusion that governments must reach a common understanding on how AI will be used and regulated on the battlefield.
