Author Archives: Ahmed

On Health Care Saudization

arab_news_article

Today’s Arab News is running an editorial by yours truly. The editorial is based on a post I’ve written on Saturday commenting on a headline the paper carried in which an “expert” claimed that the country is in need for 100,000 Saudis to work as pharmacists in the government and the private sector. The expert went as far as saying “Those who pass the degree will instantly be employed.”

But as anybody here can tell you, statements of experts are one thing, and reality on the ground is usually quite another. As a matter of fact, many pharmacy graduates like my own brother are unemployed because they could not find any proper jobs for their qualifications. I hope this piece would draw the attention of officials in the Government and Shoura Council to this situation.

Many thanks to my friends at Arab News for giving me the chance to write about this important issue, and I’m looking forward to contribute more to the newspaper in the future.

Al-Hilal Signs Huge Sponsorship Deal with Mobily

hilal_mobilyAl-Hilal is one the leading and well-known football clubs, not only in Saudi Arabia but in the Middle East and Asia. The Riyadh-based club have announced yesterday that they have reached an agreement for a sponsorship deal with Mobily, the country’s second telecommunication company.

Now this kind of sponsorship deals is common place for football clubs all over the world, and clubs here have been involved in similar deals for years. But what makes this deal special is the large scale that is unprecedented in the region. According to al-Hilal’s official website, Mobily agreed to pay SR 200 million over the next five years to associate their brand with the team.

Few details are available at the moment, but the club’s website says that al-Hilal will host a press conference following the official signing ceremony. This deal should be good for al-Hilal and for Saudi football in general, and I predict that more clubs will be looking for deals like this one in order to cover their increasing expenditure.

Activists Release New Statement

A group of political and human rights activists in Saudi Arabia have sent an open letter to the head of Human Rights Commission (HRC), the government body concerned with human rights, asking the commission to act according to its responsibilities regarding the reformists who were detained last February.

The letter, which was also sent to the head of Shoura Council, the minister of justice and the head of NSHR, asked HRC to handle the case of the detainees and ensure to grant them their lawful rights which were violated upon their detention. It also pointed out to the arrests of other activists known for their social status and contributions who also underwent the same violations.

“These actions by some bodies violate basic human rights, and do not go well with the reforming steps led by King Abdullah,” the letter read, but it does not go as far as naming these bodies. It does not, however, take much thinking to realize that the letter talks about the Ministry of Interior, which said the arrest were related to allegation of financing terrorism.

The letter was signed by 76 activists, including many well-known reform figures such as Ali al-Domaini, Matruk al-Faleh and Khalid al-Umair. The list of signatories also included many Shiite activists such as Najib al-Khonaizi, Mohammed al-Ali and Jaafar al-Shayeb.

However, as Abu-Joori pointed out, the list reveals the absence of any prominent religious leaders. “It indicates the ignorance in which the leaders of Sahwa and Islamists in Saudi Arabia are plagued with when it comes to human rights issues.” On the other hand, many of the so-called liberals are absent from this list, he added.

I believe all the demands in the letter are fair and the detainees should be granted their rights according to the law immediately. But it is anyone’s guess if the receivers of this letter would actually respond to it. Let’s wait and see, but my advice is not to get your hopes too hight. I, for one, again, is not holding my breath.

Kuwaiti Bloggers Abducted

Some very sad and disturbing news coming from Kuwait:

At Saturday 8pm Kuwait State Police abducted 2 Kuwaiti bloggers Bashar Al-Sayegh from Al-Ohmmah.org and Jassem Al-Qamis without the due protection of the Kuwait Constitution while leaving work. The reason being that an anonymous commenter wrote something criticizing the Emir yet even though it was removed immediately by Al-Sayegh they are still holding him responsible.

You can keep up with the latest updates from the Kuwaiti blogosphere through Safat.

Saudi Genes Make Codeine Risk Higher

Codeine is an opiate used mainly to relieve pain and suppress cough, and it can be found in many prescription and non-prescription drugs. It has been known as a standard cough-suppressant, and the pain-relieving effect is due to the fact that some of it is metabolized into morphine upon administration.

One of the problems of codeine (and its metabolites) is that it is secreted in the milk of nursing mothers, and this can lead to morphine overdose for the baby if the mother was an “ultra-rapid metabolizer” of codeine.

This week, the Food and Drug Administration in the US have issued a warning following a report of the death of a 13-day-old breast-fed infant who died from morphine overdose. His mom had been taking codeine to treat pain from an episiotomy and was later found to be an “ultra-rapid metabolizer” of codeine.

Ultra-rapid metabolism occur with a big variation among different ethnic groups, and people who have it usually don’t know about it. However, Saudis in particular must pay extra attention to this case. According to studies, 16-28% of Saudis have the genetic potential, compared to 1-10% among whites, 3% for blacks and 1% for Hispanics and Asians.

This is a very high prevalence and doctors in the Kingdom should be very careful when prescribing codeine for nursing mothers. The Ministry of Health should take a quick action and issue a warning to all health professionals in the country in order to prevent any possible harm.

Codeine products remain safe for most people, FDA says, but drug manufacturers should add information to the label about the phenomenon of codeine ultra-rapid metabolism, especially as it relates to breast-feeding.

More is Less?

Since I’m fasting these days to compensate for the week I spent in Jeddah last Ramadhan, I was still up at the early hours of the day and decided to take a quick tour on the headlines before going to sleep. This item in Arab News was particularly of interest to me:

More Saudi Pharmacists Needed

Saudi Arabia requires more than 100,000 pharmacy graduates to replace the foreign workers employed in hospitals and other establishments in both the private and government sectors, according to an expert in the field of pharmacy and medical education in the Kingdom.

Being a pharmacy student, my interest in this item should not be surprising. Sure, knowing there is a huge demand for pharmacists should be assuring and make me feel comfortable about my future, but truth is, reading this has left me confused rather than assured.

Why confused, you might ask? The answer is: because my brother has graduated with a degree in pharmacy since the beginning of this year, yet he still can’t find a job. Despite the fact that he has had his degree from a college managed by the Ministry of Health, he could not find a job in their hospitals or in any of the private hospitals where he went seeking employment.

I really can’t see where the real problem lies here. If there is this huge demand on pharmacists in the country, how come my brother and a large number of his colleagues are still sitting frustrated in their homes after knocking every door only to return disappointed? Today, my brother is going to KFU to apply for a job there after he read in the newspaper that they were seeking employees for a few health-related positions. Will he get the job? Considering the limited seats and the competition his chance might seem slim, but I want to wish him all the best. Good luck Hasan.