Arab Health to host first dedicated Mid East summit on women's health

The topics to be examined will include stress incontinence, breast diseases, the latest hysteroscopy techniques, the diagnosis, management and treatment of cervical cancer, state-of-the-art infertility treatment and developments in gene testing.

With sponsorship from Karl Storz, Gynecare and Bioscientia, the Women's Health Symposium - to be held at the Dubai International Conference Centre (DICC) - will bring together leading experts from the United States, Europe, Middle East and Far East, to discuss key issues affecting women's health in the region.

Among the leading medical professionals speaking at the conference will be Dr Annekathryn Goodman, Associate Director, Division of Gynaecology, Oncology Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Centre Partners Healthcare System; Prof Dr Kirschbaum, Chairman of Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Caritas Clinic St Theresa, Saarbrucken, Germany; Dr Maha Abdel Hadi, King Fahd Hospital of the University Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia; Dr Jochen Decker, Medical Director, Bioscientia Institute, Centre for Human Genetics, Ingelheim, Germany; Prof Walter Tan, Medical Director, Raffles Hospital, Singapore and Dr Ulrich Schneider, Scientific Director and Chairman, The German Clinic for Reproductive Medicine.

The Women's Health Symposium forms part of the largest series of medical meetings ever staged in the Middle East. Organised by IIR, the International Arab Health Congress will also include ten conferences covering plastic surgery, otology, diabetes and obesity, new approaches in healthcare management, advanced minimally invasive surgery, hypertension and associated conditions, dentistry and hospital design.

It will also host an expanded three-day 'Middle East Imaging and Diagnostic Conference', organised in association with the UAE Ministry of Health and with sponsorship by Philips Medical Systems and GE Medical Systems. The Imaging and Diagnostic Conference will include a mini PACS symposium sponsored by Agfa-Gevaert NV. The conference programme also includes the four-day '3rd Middle East International Plastic Surgery and Laser Congress' (MEPLAST 2004).

Delegates attending the 'Otology Update', 'Advanced Minimally Invasive Surgery', 'MEPLAST 2004', 'Women's Health Symposium' and 'Forum for Dentistry' conferences, accredited by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, will receive Continuing Professional Development or CPD credits.

"The Congress is now recognised as one of the most important healthcare gatherings in the Middle East. It plays an important role in educating everyone involved in the implementation and delivery of patient services by giving them access to the very latest medical solutions," said John Hassett, Exhibitions Director, Healthcare Division, IIR.

"We are very grateful for the support of the Arab German Medical Services, the Hamburg Hospital Association, the Committee for Promoting German Medicine in Foreign Countries and Bayern International, which through its regional hospitals, has agreed to sponsor many of Germany's leading medical practitioners as speakers at the Congress."

Arab Health 2004, officially supported by the UAE Ministry of Health and the Dubai Department of Health and Medical Services, will take place at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre from January 18 to 21. The event's lead sponsor is Dubai Healthcare City, one of the most innovative healthcare projects in the world.