RIYADH: A visiting team of officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) has praised the Ministry of Health for setting up the Crown Health Project (CHP) to fight non-communicable diseases in the Kingdom.

The team, led by Jaco Homsy, visited Al-Jouf to check on the progress of the project. Omar Ba Sulaiman, undersecretary for primary health care, was the head of the Saudi team, according to a statement released by the ministry recently.

Homsy said that the ministry’s program would greatly reduce the mortality rate because government and private sector organizations were helping to promote healthy lifestyles and reduce the incidence of genetic diseases in the Kingdom.

Ba Sulaiman said that the vision of the ministry is for the project to become a leading model for the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in the primary health care field. It is a comprehensive program to prevent non-communicable and chronic diseases, he said.

It has been a customary practice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to seek advice and assistance from global health organizations such as WHO and the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to resolve health issues in the Kingdom.