25 percent of citizens aged between 20 and 49 suffer from hypertension

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health (MOH) is currently studying the possibility of building a hospital specialized in hypertension diseases. This comes in the wake of recent studies which showed that one quarter of Kuwait's population suffers from high blood pressure, and that the disease's rates are on the rise, sources said.

The hospital would be built according to the latest medical standards, said the sources, adding that it would include cutting edge medical equipment and specialized medical and nursing staffs working on hypertension, cardiovascular, abdominal diseases, as well as health nutrition units and departments.

The sources further elaborated on the studies, indicating that the statistics show that 25 percent of citizens aged between 20 and 49 suffer from hypertension, while over 60 percent of male citizens older than 50 suffer the same. The studies also related hypertension to obesity, and stressed the significance of healthy nutrition based on consuming more vegetables, fruits, cereals, and low-fat dairy products, while taking less sugar, salt, red meats and fats in order to avoid hypertension. Moreover, the study encouraged people to exercises more in order to prevent hypertension, which it dubbed as 'the silent killer'.

Temporary slaughterhouses

The Public Authority for Food and Nutrition's (PAFN) Deputy Director for Inspection Dr Amal Al-Rashdan met with Chairman of the Union of Consumer Co-operative Societies (UCCS) Khaled Al-Otaibi to discuss building temporary slaughterhouses at co-ops in densely populated areas during Eid Al-Adha. Both sides agreed to have PAFN and other relevant bodies supervise the slaughterhouses to ensure safe, Halal services and healthy disposal of the remains.

On a related issue, informed sources said that some slaughterhouses are already understaffed with both vets and butchers due to sharp budget shortages. Further, the sources stressed that PAFN would coordinate with various relevant state departments to monitor unauthorized butchers and fine them. In other news, Kuwait Municipality's Director Ahmad Al-Manfouhi stressed that he would take all legal measures needed to remove violations and unsafe storage at fodder outlets in an attempt to avoid any fires from breaking out in the future.

Committee's meeting

Minister of Finance Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf issued a ministerial resolution last week appointing his assistant undersecretary for administrative affairs as head of the personnel affairs committee, said informed sources. They further noted that the committee had never met in two months because of the freezing of the resignation of undersecretary Khalifa Hamada, which he had filed on May 9, 2018 to the minister who is yet to make a decision whether to accept it or not.

Bonuses and promotions

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is expected to approve paying 'excellent performance bonuses' and promotions for around 600 employees at the Public Authority for Roads and Land Transport, effective from the next fiscal year, on grounds that it is an independent authority. The authority will evaluate its employees and make their annual performance reports before the end of this year according to CSC regulations, sources said.

By A Saleh