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08-06-2023 09:37

Address by the Minister of Health, Dr Popi Kanari, at the 3rd Cyprus Medical International Forum

It is with great pleasure that I am among you today to address the 3rd Cyprus International Medical Forum, a meeting that can be a catalyst towards promoting Cyprus as a Center of Medical and Scientific Excellence.

Such meetings and fora, where scientists and other distinguished health professionals can exchange knowledge, improve expertise and build bonds, can create a momentum towards efforts for scientific and medical excellence.

This Forum is organized for the 3rd time round and this demonstrates continuity, accountability, but also necessity.

Each and every one of the distinguished speakers are experts in their field, with presentations on infertility, regenerative medicine, pain management but also Cyber awareness in health and other topics, covering the multi thematic approach of this forum, thus ensuring the success of this meeting. The topics to be presented prove that health care is multi-faceted and specialists must have before them information that is beyond medical skills before taking any medical decisions, always considering in parallel legal and ethical issues.

This meeting is expected to promote investment in the health care and increase Cyprus’ visibility in the medical market.

The geographical position of Cyprus, being in the far most corner of the Mediterranean Sea at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, guarantee easy access to the country and travelling to neighbouring countries. Its natural characteristics can enable the combination of health with vacation. The healthy climate  in combination with available tourism facilities makes it a destination for health and vacation.

At the same time, Cyprus has been known as a medical destination since ancient years. Visitors came to Cyprus to be treated by Cypriot Doctors, such as Apollodoros of Kition, Synesis the Cypriot and Apollonios of Kition (1st century BC), who was also known as the Cypriot Hippocrates. It is a country with strong historic relations in medical science, being turned into a human philosophy.  In our days, doctors are trained in distinguished universities and medical centres abroad, as well as in Cyprus, enabling them a high level of education and strong relationships with health professionals.  No one can overlook the fact that a great number of well recognised health scientists and researchers with tremendous contribution in medical sciences, have their roots in Cyprus.

All these, along with its membership in the European Union and the implementation of a General Healthcare System, make Cyprus a strategically important country, but also a robust medical knowledge and healthcare provision hub. This can provide an advantage to the EU citizens visiting our beautiful country, with natural beauties and monuments, that I hope you will also have the time to visit.

Allow me to make a special reference to the 4 years since the implementation of GeSY and to underline its benefits. GeSY’s aim is to promote universal health coverage and address the existing inequalities of health care coverage amongst the population, while it is based on the principles of Universality, Equality, Solidarity and Free Choice of healthcare provider. At the same time, this system is enriched by highly qualified doctors and healthcare professionals, as well as advanced medical technology and healthcare facilities, that classify it into a social innovation.

The Ministry of Health is the competent authority in the area of Health and under this scope it is obliged to strengthen actions towards quality improvement and patients’ satisfaction. The structural reforms already implemented provide this environment that will allow us to focus on measures towards the establishment of high-level standards, monitoring mechanisms and promotion of centres of excellence. 

Allow me, once again, to welcome you to Cyprus and to wish you every success during the proceedings, hoping for tangible results.

(DC)