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Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar on Wednesday received at his office in the capital the EU Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Christophe Varno.
During a separate meeting, the prince congratulated Ayman Abo Abah on his recent appointment as CEO of Riyadh Airports Co., wishing him success in the role.
The governor was briefed on the latest and future development plans for the company, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
RIYADH: King Saud University announced on Thursday that two of its team have secured a US patent for a novel material designed to inhibit bone bleeding and combat microbial infections, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Dr. Nasser bin Salem bin Noah, a consultant specializing in maxillofacial surgery at the College of Dentistry and University Dental Hospital, and Dr. Muhammad bin Salah, an assistant consultant at the Maxillofacial Surgery Clinics, developed the material using circular silver particles extracted from nettle leaves through nanotechnology.
The material not only helps stop bleeding but also reduces inflammation rates compared with existing alternatives, SPA added.
The material supports the regeneration of bone tissue across various parts of the body, as demonstrated by clinical trials involving advanced micro-CT scans and bone tissue analysis.
A study highlighting the material’s efficacy and potential applications has been published in high-ranking scientific journals, SPA reported.
Salah emphasized the significance of the advancement, saying that it represented a step forward in enhancing surgical outcomes and improving patient care.
RIYADH: The General Authority for Endowments and Sekaya Charitable Foundation have signed a partnership agreement to support the establishment and operation of a SR30 million ($8 million) initiative to provide water dispensers in the Makkah region and locations serving pilgrims.
The agreement was signed under the patronage of Mansour Al-Mushaiti, deputy minister of environment, water and agriculture, and in the presence of Abdulaziz Al-Shaibani, deputy minister for water affairs, on the sidelines of the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, held in Riyadh.
Imad Al-Kharashi, the governor at the General Authority for Endowments, represented the authority, while Sekaya Foundation was represented by its CEO, Abdulrahman bin Suleiman Al-Rashoud, in the presence of the Deputy Governor of the General Authority for Endowments for the Banking and Developmental Programs Sector Abdulrahman Al-Aqil.
RIYADH: The Saudi Red Crescent Authority honored its volunteers at its annual ceremony on Wednesday, revealing statistics of financial outcomes and volunteer projects in 2024.
In the presence of key figures in the humanitarian sector, the SRCA stressed that volunteering remained central to its social mission and an integral part of Vision 2030.
The SRCA honored the efforts put into projects in the health, educational, environmental, and media sectors by some 211,703 officially registered volunteers in 2024.
It said that 78 percent of its volunteers were under 30, with women significantly outnumbering men at 54 percent of the volunteer base, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The SRCA recorded 47,946 volunteer opportunities across Saudi Arabia during the year, leading to nearly 119 million volunteering hours that contributed an estimated SR366 million ($97m) to the national economy.
The SRCA also facilitated a diverse range of volunteer activities in 2024, the SPA reported.
In the ambulance services it supported 8,435 opportunities, contributing to nearly 20 million hours of work, while it created 7,965 humanitarian aid openings which led to 88 million hours, and 13,770 educational initiatives with nine million hours of volunteering.
In the environmental sector it supported 935 opportunities totaling 258,023 hours, while media activities saw 924 opportunities with 108,563 hours, and administrative roles had 5,917 opportunities adding up to 899,058 hours.
The SRCA thanked its partners in the country’s public and private sectors for promoting a volunteer culture within their organizations. It also celebrated the success of Kafo, a program designed to incentivize and reward volunteering efforts.
JAZAN: Jazan Governor Prince Mohammed bin Nasser inaugurated the Saudi International Medical Education Conference at Jazan University on Wednesday.
The two-day conference was organized by the university’s faculty of medicine in partnership with the Saudi Society for Medical Education and the Deans’ Committee of Medical Colleges in the Kingdom.
In his welcome speech, the president of Jazan University, Mohammed Abu Rasin, said that the conference is being organized to keep pace with the world in the field of medical education, which manifests the Kingdom’s vision to foster medical innovation, enhance development, and signifies the support of the Saudi leadership for higher education.
Abu Rasin said that medical professionals from within and outside the Kingdom, will enrich educational processes and contribute to the creation of an effective scientific platform that keeps pace with global technology.
President of the Saudi Society for Medical Education Dr. Hussein Al Zahrani, said that the conference was initiated to facilitate communication between health professionals and researchers and to ensure continual cooperation between institutions for medical education.
Al Zahrani pointed out that the conference, held under the slogan “Education Cooperation among Health Professions: Expectations and Challenges,” will discuss the strategies of empowering medical faculty members and enhancing their competencies in medical education, and identify challenges, organize conferences and provide opportunities for the development of medical education in the Kingdom.
He said that in addition to contributions and recent developments in medical education, such as e-learning, simulation and virtual reality, the research abstracts in the conference totalled 200, of which 90 were accepted as scientific posters; not to forget the achievement of hosting an elite group of participants in the field of health education at an international level.
The governor attended the cooperation signing ceremony between Jazan University, the Armed Forces Hospital in Jazan, and Abha International Private Hospital.
RIYADH: At least 120,000 people this year have benefited from government training programs and skill development initiatives aimed at achieving financial independence, a Saudi vice minister told Arab News.
Abdullah Abuthnain, vice minister of human resources and social development for labor at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, spoke to Arab News about some of the ministry’s recent initiatives that were discussed at the Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and the Pacific, organized by the General Organization for Social Insurance, or GOSI, in Riyadh.
“We introduced new reforms such as launching the professional accreditation program to verify the capabilities of expatriate workers in all categories. In partnership with employers, we launched the national training campaign, Waad, to provide about 3 million training opportunities,” he said.
The ministry aims to upskill and reskill more than 320,000 workers in seven sectors in cooperation with the human capacity development program, Abuthnain added.
It has also established 12 councils to improve the skills of the Saudi workforce, he said.
One notable initiative was the launching of the “Qiwa” platform, which provides more than 130 basic services to regulate the market, Abuthnain said.
The ministry has encouraged the digitization of contracts and has set regulations to support new forms of work, such as adopting freelance work, flexible work and remote work, he added.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development aims to support low-income groups in society by promoting their integration and empowerment.
To achieve this, the ministry established “empowerment clinics,” which serve as community centers connecting government entities with the private and non-profit sectors to meet the diverse needs of individuals and families receiving social security.
A session at the forum, “Practical Approaches to Excellence in Social Security Administration,” demonstrated the importance of enhancing efficient and effective social security laws.
The session also addressed several key topics, including ways to improve productivity, protect workers and ensure unemployment insurance coverage.
The forum provides an exclusive framework for professionals to exchange experiences, strategies and best practices, to enhance administrative efficiency and supporting innovation methods, said Ammar Nagadi, vice minister of economy and planning.
Participants agreed on the need to develop effective training and professional programs to support the unemployed in returning to the labor market, along with improving compensation disbursement mechanisms.
They discussed investing social security funds in long-term investment projects that ensure substantial returns and enhance the financial sustainability of social security systems, with a focus on transformation and innovation in this field.
In the plenary session titled “Transformation and Innovation — Key Success Factors,” speakers emphasized digital transformation and innovation in addressing the growing challenges facing social security systems.
GOSI also received 10 international certificates of excellence in the field of social security best practices, presented by Dr. Mohamed Azman, president of the International Social Security Association, during the forum.
The certificates recognized the authority’s success in the digital transformation of insurance protection and detecting insurance fraud.
