Participants with officials at the workshop.
Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) recently organised a high-level workshop to enhance national capacities in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and health policy in collaboration with the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Hoffmann-La Roche.
The workshop formed part of the Ministry’s efforts to entrench evidence-based decision-making across healthcare sectors and to promote long-term sustainability and resilience within Qatar’s health system.
The workshop aimed to strengthen national capabilities in HTA and health policy. Establishing a dedicated national unit in this field and developing a comprehensive assessment framework with clear standards are part of the twelfth outcome, “Excellence in Health Research, Development, and Innovation,” under the third priority, “Efficiency and Resilience of the Health System,” in the National Health Strategy 2024–2030.
The workshop reflected the Ministry’s commitment to ensuring the effective and equitable allocation of health resources, supporting innovation through effective governance of emerging technologies, and enhancing the overall resilience and sustainability of the health system. It also underscored the importance of multi-sectoral partnerships in achieving national health priorities.
The workshop was opened by Head of the National Health Technology Assessment Unit Project within the National Health Strategy at the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Anas Hamad who emphasised the importance of concerted efforts to achieve the Ministry’s objectives under its 2024–2030 strategy, improve health system outcomes, and build specialised national capacities in this field.
He said: “The project to establish a national Health Technology Assessment (HTA) unit is based on the third priority of the National Health Strategy, which focuses on efficiency and resilience, and is part of the twelfth outcome relating to excellence in research, development, and innovation. The HTA project is a pivotal initiative to develop an integrated and reliable framework to support transparent, evidence-based decision-making within Qatar’s health system.”
General Manager of Hoffmann-La Roche in the Gulf region, Dr Ahmed Tawfiq stressed the importance of unifying efforts between the public and private sectors to develop sustainability frameworks aligned with shared objectives.
He said: “Today, we are working with our partners at the Ministry of Public Health and the London School of Economics and Political Science to achieve a shared goal of improving healthcare in Qatar, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030. By building capacity in health technology assessment, we ensure that the right treatments reach the right patients at the right time, relying on the latest scientific evidence and modern technologies.”
