Dr. Unni Karunakara, international president of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), met yesterday in Geneva with a Bahraini parliamentary delegation that included the Minister of Human Rights Dr. Salah Bin Ali Abdularahman.
Dr. Karunakara raised issues related to the need for impartial access to health care in Bahrain, and the obligation of medical staff to provide health care regardless of patients’ political or sectarian affiliations.
The MSF president reiterated the organizations’ willingness to provide technical support in emergency preparedness and mental health care, which was received positively by the Bahraini delegation.
Minister Dr. Salah Bin Ali Abdularahman and undersecretary Khalifa Yusuf Ahmed Al-Kaabi encouraged MSF to resubmit the proposal for its activities in Bahrain, and assured that they would provide the necessary support to allow for prompt implementation.
An invitation by the Bahraini government was extended to the MSF president to visit the country and follow up on this commitment.
The issue of an official registration for MSF in Bahrain was also discussed.
