Damascus, (SANA) – The Ministry of Health and the European Union discussed on Wednesday at the Health Studies Center the stages of studying and implementing the social healthcare system in Syria as part of the Health Services Modernization Program (HSMP) which is financed by the EU.

Assistant Health Minister Dr. Jamal al-Wadi said the Ministry is working on partnership plans with various sides and studying models to specify work priorities in developing a healthcare system that meets the needs of citizens.

He added that the Ministry held meetings with the Social Insurance Establishment in that regard, and that it will work to provide health services and supervise them after finishing the legal and organization aspects.

Dr. al-Wadi pointed out the modernizing and restructuring the health sector requires increased spending that changing the financing mechanism and limits waste in financial resources.

In turn, HSMP Co-Director Dr. Isaac al-Mankabadi noted that social healthcare systems require increasing spending on the level of individuals, which would entail increasing the allotment for each Syrian citizen from USD 60 to 100 and 120 per year.

Dr. al-Mankabadi reviewed the steps needed to achieve a beneficial healthcare system that achieves goals and supports people with limited income, stressing the importance of coordinating with the government.

He also called for donations to be used to support and develop the infrastructure without focusing on certain services, saying that technical and consultative support will be focused on basic services, training staff and experimenting with alternative mechanisms for providing healthcare.

For his part, Resident Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Syria Dr. Ibrahim Beit-el-Mal pointed out that only3 to 4 percent of Arab countries' budget is spent on health, compare to 10 to 12 percent in advanced countries.

He also said that 40% of income in developing countries is spent on health, underlining the need to develop health services along with raising health awareness and distributing budgets to focus on the health sector, particularly in regards to groups to require significant care liker mothers and children.

H. Sabbagh