The Cabinet’s weekly meeting chaired by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa at the Gudaibiya Palace reviewed the recommendations of the Health Minister with regard to effective control of sickle cell disease in the country.
The cabinet also reviewed a report submitted by the Health Minister on the practical steps and therapeutic and preventive measures taken by the Health Ministry to combat sickle cell disease and provide high-quality health care for sickle cell patients.
HRH Premier issued directives to speed up the construction of the Hereditary Blood Diseases Centre and supply it with the needed equipment in order to be able to provide comprehensive high-quality services for sickle cell patients.
During the session, ministries and state bodies’ preparations for the Holy month of Ramadan, especially regarding taking care of mosques, providing basic food products, controlling prices and continuing municipal work.
HRH Premier called for the need to take advantage of the spiritual character of the holy month of Ramadan to enhance social cohesion and strengthen national unity so as to ensure that the kingdom, under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, remains an oasis of co-existence and tolerance.
The cabinet reviewed the government work plan, highlighting the completed strategic projects and discussing the reasons behind the delay of some others, as outlined in the report submitted by the State Minister for Follow-up Affairs.
The report also shed light on the progress of the implementation of development projects, including housing, education, health and infrastructure ones, calling upon ministries and state bodies to update their projects data and be committed to the implementation deadlines.
The cabinet also endorsed a proposal included in the Interior Minister’s memo regarding the establishment of an electronic statistics system to be supervised by the Central Informatics Organisation.
The system will update and validate national data and indicators and keep record of the international indices and reports on Bahrain.
The cabinet also reviewed and referred to Ministerial Committee on Legal Affairs a draft law on information and communication submitted by the Minister of State for Information Affairs.
The draft law aims to consolidate media and democratic openness, as recommended by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI).
The cabinet also discussed a memo submitted by the Culture Minister on the function organized as part of the Manama as Capital of Arab Culture 2012 and the need to decorate the main streets during national occasions, instructing the Culture Ministry to coordinate with the concerned sides in this regard.
The delegation to be in charge of presenting the Kingdom’s response to the results of its periodic review at the 21st session of the UN Human Rights Council was also approved.
State Minister for Human Rights Affairs will lead the kingdom’s delegation to the session, to be held next September, 2012.
The cabinet also reviewed and referred to the Ministerial Committee on Legal Affairs two draft agreements on Avoidance of Double Taxation with Respect to Taxes on Income signed between Bahrain and the governments of Panama and Barbados.
The cabinet also reviewed a report submitted by the Interior Minister on the results of his recent visit to the USA and another by the Industry and Commerce Minister on the sufficiency of red meat and live sheep and the measures taken in this regard in cooperation with the Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry