Health Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb appointed new members, comprising local officials and representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to the scientific advisory board of the ministry to deal with diseases.

The new board, headed by Dr. Ahmed Al-Harisi from the King Saud University, will include Hassan Al-Bishri of WHO and Dr. John Watson from the US-based CDC. The other members are representatives from the ministries of health, agriculture, national guard and interior and one from the private sector .

The minister also thanked the outgoing members of the committee who were instrumental in introducing several good services toward the Kingdom's healthcare.

According to Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Khalid Al-Mirghalani, the new board will focus on scientific research and studies related to public health diseases.