Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean, which was held virtually under the chairmanship of the Egyptian Minister of Health and Population, after being unanimously elected by the Committee. Ministers of Health, high-level representatives from twenty-two countries, partner and civil society organizations took part in the meeting. 11.The Kingdom of Bahrain also participated in the second meeting of the Facilitation Council of the initiative to accelerate the availability of tools to combat COVID-19, ACT-Accelerator, launched by the WHO with the aim of supporting research in the field of developing vaccines, anti-epidemic, and diagnostic drugs, in the presence of their Excellencies the Ministers and members of the Facilitation Council 12.The Kingdom of Bahrain also participated, via video conference, in the ninth meeting of the Advisory Technical Committee of the Council of Arab Health Ministers, where several important topics were discussed and reviewed, including the repercussions of the new coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) on the health sector of the Arab region , the field of exchanging experiences, and exchanging national know-how on response to the novel coronavirus, in addition to the need for a multilateral response to the post COVID-19 pandemic. 13.In addition, the Kingdom of Bahrain participated in the official launch of the electronic training course entitled “Primary Health Care Practices”, prepared by the Regional Office of WHO for the Eastern Mediterranean and the partners represented in the World Organization of Family Physicians, and United Nations agencies, via virtual communication technology, in the presence of the regional directors of United Nations agencies, heads of other participating organizations, and ministers of health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The training aimed to support the efforts of primary health care staff to maintain basic services and to effectively assist in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The training came within the framework of the special regional action plan implementation of the global action program for the third goal of the sustainable development goals on the enjoyment of healthy lifestyles and prosperity for all; in addition, it focused on four main areas: maintaining basic health services, preventing (COVID-19) by supporting effective public health measures, diagnosing cases of coronavirus and ensuring their appropriate transfer , and the existing management of mild and moderate cases. 14.This primary health care training course was launched at a time where health systems in the region and outside are facing many challenges, including the real need to combat the coronavirus, and it came in line with the need to fully integrate primary health care into national response plans to COVID-19, which includes a holistic approach, where all levels of care are mobilized to complement each other. NIHR Bahrain- Eighth Annual Report 2020 62