RIYADH, 20 March — Dr. Yaakub Al-Mazroue, assistant deputy health minister for preventive medicine, said the Health Ministry will launch a major media campaign to enlighten the public on the importance of having a medical checkup before getting married.
Mazroue’s statement comes after the Cabinet discussed the issue on Monday and allocated SR5 million to finance the campaign and prepare clinics for soon-to-be brides and grooms. However, he did not say when the campaign is going to be launched.
The Cabinet did not make premarital medical checkups compulsory. Rather, it is leaving the matter to the discretion of each couple.
Mazroue said that conducting medical checkups before marriage can be essential for avoiding a number of possible diseases, especially hereditary and contagious diseases. He added that most laboratories at private and public hospitals in the Kingdom are ready now to conduct such checkups.
Dr. Hamad Al-Sufyan, consultant for maternity and children’s diseases at King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, said the premarital checkups will also help prevent transmission of diseases from one partner to the other.
