RIYADH, 7 September 2005 — The Ministry of Health in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a study in 23 cities to evaluate the impact created on the spread of environment-related diseases on the community.
According to statistics released by the ministry in 2000, there were 280,000 cases of diarrhea, of which 70 percent occurred in children under five years — 31 percent of them infants under one year of age. During the period from 2001 to 2003, a total of 19,160 cases of bloody-diarrhea were reported to government hospitals in various parts of the Kingdom.
“The period of study is for one year and it will be conducted in the 23 ‘healthy cities’ throughout the Kingdom and its final report will be released in May next year,” Dr. Fayssal M. Farahat, occupational health consultant at the ministry, told Arab News.
He added that the study will be conducted on the basis of a WHO concept targeted to assess global burden of disease as a result of environmental pollution. He said the causative agents for the environment-related diseases include water, sanitation and hygiene.
Dr. Farahat said the findings of the study will help the ministry to plan new programs to eliminate the causes of these diseases.
