Ministry of Public Health, Qatar and WHO collaborating to implement public health security measures as FIFA World Cup approaches

An estimated 1.5 million fans are expected to visit Qatar to attend this year’s FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. To ensure the safety of players, officials, fans and local residents throughout the tournament, health officials at the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and World Health Organization (WHO) have put a broad set of measures in place to mitigate any potential public health risks.
The efforts are part of the three-year Sport for Health partnership between the MoPH and WHO. Along with health promotion, the partnership’s health security pillar plays an essential role in ensuring the health and well-being of the participants in mega sporting events. This includes risk assessment, mass gathering protocols inside and outside stadiums, event-based surveillance to protect people from infectious disease outbreaks and risk communications.
“Mega sports events like the World Cup are attended by significant numbers of people which has the potential to strain public health and response resources of the host nation or community. Preparation is critical to any effective health security plan and Qatar’s health-care sector has undergone remarkable transformation in recent years,” said Dr Hamad Al Romaihi, Director of the Health Protection and Communicable Disease Control Department at the MoPH.
“Qatar’s health-care sector has significantly grown and expanded throughout the last decade. In the public sector alone, we have opened ten new hospitals and 16 new primary health centers since 2010, significantly boosting capacity across the system. This transformation has also been seen in our emergency medical services, with an expanded national Ambulance Service and the opening of the region’s largest Trauma and Emergency Center in 2019.”
“Another significant area of development has been our workforce. We have placed great importance on building a strong, highly skilled team of health-care professionals across the system to lead the delivery of high-quality care to Qatar’s population. All football fans visiting Qatar for the FIFA World Cup can be reassured that, if needed, they will receive health-care services from Hamid Medical Centre teams on par with the very highest international standards,” added Dr Al Romaihi.
Through the Sport for Health partnership, WHO is supporting the Qatar MoPH through provision of technical guidance in applying the risk-based approach when planning for high-visibility events and enhancing response capacities, including outbreak management. Technical assistance will complement Qatar’s public health expertise with the latest best practice and experience gained from recent mega sporting events, including but not limited to the Beijing Winter Olympics held earlier this year.
Qatar’s health-care teams have gained significant experience in delivering services for major events and gatherings in Qatar. In recent years Qatar’s health-care workforce has been involved in large-scale tournaments hosted in Doha, including the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup; the IAAF World Athletics Championships 2019; and the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup™.
The unique Sport for Health partnership aims to create a blueprint to protect and promote health at future mass gatherings. FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ represents a unique opportunity to develop a new approach to organizing mega sports events factoring in lessons learnt from the pandemic and reinforcing sports and health as a pathway for recovery.

Source- World Health Organization