Kingdom of Bahrain

His Excellency the Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, received yesterday Dr. Khaled Alloush, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Kingdom of Bahrain, with the aim of hailing cooperation between the Ministry of Interior and the UN in the Kingdom and authorizing the establishment of a committee to cooperate with the UN in implementing a UNDP-assisted drug control programme to combat drug-trafficking and drug abuse in the country.

A Walkathon took place today in solidarity with those infected with HIV and AIDS around the world and within the country, as part of the Kingdom’s commemoration of World AIDS Day. The event was organized by the Ministry of Health and UNDP jointly with the Middle Area Municipal Council, and was held at 4 pm at the Estiqlal Walkway in Isa Town. The theme adopted by Bahrain for this year’s World AIDS Day was that of the World AIDS Campaign’s theme: “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise.” About 100 participants came out to join in the afternoon activities, major local newspapers and television networks attended to provide coverage of the event, and doctors and nurses turned out to conduct free basic health checks for participants.Click here for Arabic article.

A press briefing was held today at the UN House in Manama with the purpose of informing the media and public of a Walkathon being organized by the Ministry of Health and UNDP in collaboration with the Middle Area Municipal Council in commemoration of World AIDS Day on 1 December 2005. The Walkathon is scheduled to take place at 4:00 pm on Thursday at the Estiqlal Walkway located in Isa Town, and all are invited to attend and walk in support of the global efforts made in the fight against the spread of AIDS and in order to help raise awareness about the disease. Click here for Arabic article.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed today between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Bahrain Family Planning Association (BFPA) at a signing ceremony that was held at the UN house in Manama. The MOU was co-signed by Dr. Khaled Alloush, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, and Dr. Tawfeeq Naseeb, President of Bahrain Family Planning Association, with the aim of strengthening the relationship between UNDP and civil society and supporting the generation of information on the main health risk behaviors, attitudes and practices of youth within the 15-24 age group. Under the supervision of the Bahrain Family Planning Association, approximately 2,300 students representing various socio-economic groups in the country will be interviewed in schools, universities and social clubs, which will commence in December 2005 and last for a period of nearly 3 months.

A press briefing was held today at the UN House in Manama with the aim of informing the media and the public of three HIV/AIDS related surveys that will be carried out in the coming months as part of the ongoing HIV/AIDS project between the Ministry of Health and UNDP, whose overall aim is to contain the HIV epidemic within low rates in Bahrain and to provide adequate care to affected individuals in the country. The three HIV/AIDS surveys will be administered to three target groups, representing the most vulnerable groups in the country in terms of HIV infection, namely: youth (ages 15-24); pregnant women (ages 15-45); and injecting drug users (IDUs). The response garnered through the surveys will feed into the preparation of an HIV/AIDS Behavioural study that to assess the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of the population of Bahrain in relation to HIV/AIDS and, at a later stage, the formulation of a national HIV/AIDS information and awareness campaign. Click to view the articles in English and Arabic.

His Highness the Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, received today Dr. Khaled Alloush, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Kingdom of Bahrain. During the course of the meeting, the Prime Minister hailed the contributions made by the United Nations Development Programme in the area of sustainable human development for the country, and affirmed the Kingdom’s keen interest in maintaining ongoing cooperation with the organization in the future.

The Minister of Education for the Kingdom of Bahrain, H.E. Dr. Majid Bin Ali Al Nuaimi, received yesterday in an official ceremony the final report prepared by the Ministry of Education in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Kingdom of Bahrain, as part of the UNDP-supported project with the ministry to enhance the quality of education in Bahrain. The report, which was formally presented to H.E. the Minister by Dr. Khaled Alloush, UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator in the Kingdom of Bahrain, highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the current education system and makes concrete recommendations on how to improve the quality of education in the country. Dr. Al Nuaimi thanked UNDP for its efforts in assisting the ministry to prepare the report over the past few months, and commented that the report will be of great help to the ministry in making the necessary educational reforms.

A two-day ‘Parliamentary Media’ workshop began today at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which is part of a series of activities under the UNDP-supported governance programme with the Parliament of the Kingdom of Bahrain to strengthen the institutional capacity of the national parliament. The workshop has been organized to develop the capacities of MPs and supporting staff in the area of parliament-media relations, with the aim of fostering cooperation and partnerships between parliamentarians and media representatives in promoting and disseminating information related to the legislative work of Parliament to the general public.

A high-level meeting was held today at the Diplomat Radisson SAS Hotel to review and discuss the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s report “In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All,” which proposes a comprehensive agenda to be taken up, and acted upon, by Heads of State and Governments in September 2005, as world leaders meet at a summit in New York to review progress since the adoption of the Millennium Declaration in September 2000. The meeting was chaired by H.E. Mr. Ahmed Mahdi Al-Haddad, Assistant Undersecretary for Political Affairs and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and presentations on the report were made by Dr. Khaled Alloush, UNDP Resident Representative/UN Resident Coordinator, and Mr. Mohammed Al-Saleh, UN Affairs specialist at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreign ambassadors, senior diplomats, top government officials, heads of local NGOs, UN staff, and media representatives attended the meeting and participated in a discussion surrounding the four main goals of the report: halving poverty in the next 10 years; reducing the threat of war, terrorism and deadly weapons; advancing human dignity in every land; and strengthening the United Nations to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa received today at Rowdha Palace a delegation headed by General Organisation for Youth and Sports (Goys) President Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa, who presented him with the final draft of the National Youth Strategy which has been recognized by the International Council for National Youth Policies (ICNYP) as being the best youth-related initiative in the Middle East. King Hamad congratulated Shaikh Fawaz and the accompanying delegation—which was comprised of high-level Goys officials, UNDP Resident Representative/UN Resident Coordinator Dr. Khaled Alloush, UNDP Programme Analyst Mr. Ali Salman, and two of the youths involved in leading youth initiatives and the youth campaign under the project—on their commendable efforts in preparing the strategy. The King also emphasized the importance of taking practical steps towards implementing the strategy, especially in terms of the development of a national youth parliament in Bahrain.