Medical checks must for expats in Bahrain

15 August 2017

Manama : Bahrain’s Health Ministry yesterday confirmed that “no migrant workers will be allowed to enter the Kingdom without undergoing medical examinations at the centres approved by the GCC states in their countries”.

In a statement, the ministry said: “The procedures aim at ensuring the efficiency and safety of the recruited workers.” The statement was in response to the suspension of manpower recruitment from Indonesia.

The Ministry earlier decided to stop recruiting manpower from countries failing to comply with the norms issued by the Gulf Approved Medical Centres Association (GAMCA).

The statement also clarified that the move is as per the decision of the thirty-seventh session of the Supreme Council of GCC Leaders held in Bahrain, last December.

“The leaders’ instructed embassies and consulates to ensure the health of expatriate workers by utilising the electronic linkage system. The instructions also prohibit dealing with health centres not approved by the GCC’s Health Ministries,” the statement added.

GAMCA, according to LMRA, is an association created to provide medical examinations to expatriates intending to join the labour markets in the GCC countries. The association has provided an electronic platform through which health results are shared with all organisations via their official website.

“According to the regulations of the GCC states, it is mandatory for expatriate workers to undergo medical screening in the country of their origin (GAMCA Medical),” the statement said.

Meanwhile, recruitment agencies urged the authorities to rethink its suspension as they said the move “will stall the manpower business by 70 percent.”

However, the ministry said that the “procedures come to ensure the efficiency and safety of the recruited workers.”