Iraq-Sanofi program elevates health worker competencies

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq’s Health Ministry on Sunday launched a new program with French pharmaceutical company Sanofi aimed at strengthening nursing skills and improving patient care across the country.

During a press conference, Health Minister Saleh Al-Hasnawi marked the start of the “Patient Trust and Community Safety” initiative, framing it as a practical step toward investing in healthcare workers and raising professional standards in Iraq's hospitals.

The program centers on developing nursing competencies through targeted training and international expertise, building on a memorandum of understanding between the ministry and Sanofi. Al-Hasnawi pointed to the central role nurses play in hospitals and frontline care, describing them as a foundational element of healthcare delivery in Iraq.

Discussions, he noted, continue with Sanofi on establishing a specialized training center dedicated to nursing skills, a move that the ministry views as ''a pathway to sustained professional development for healthcare staff.''

From Sanofi’s side, Ramzi Nassar, who oversees the company’s medicines portfolio in the Near East, outlined the firm’s reliance on artificial intelligence-driven research and development, while linking that approach to a broader commitment to improving patient outcomes.

Nassar added that the launch of the “Imkan” program earlier this year helped introduce structured approaches to strengthening the health system, beginning with training in health technology assessment.

He also referred to recent changes within the Health Ministry, including hospital construction, health infrastructure projects, the introduction of health insurance, and tighter regulation of the pharmaceutical market.

“Developing the health sector has become an urgent requirement,” Nassar observed, as medical technologies and models of care continue to evolve and place greater weight on skilled human resources.