MIT Arab Alumni/ae Association

 UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF HIS HIGHNESS
 GENERAL SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM,
CROWN PRINCE OF DUBAI AND UAE MINISTER OF DEFENCE

HIGH QUALITY UAE AND OMANI HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS HIGH ON AGENDA OF MITAAA PAN-ARAB CONFERENCE IN DUBAI

 Top officials and experts to discuss healthcare systems in Arab world
at March 22-23 event  

DUBAI-The high quality of healthcare services in Dubai and UAE and the dramatic transformation of the Omani healthcare system are among the key topics that will be discussed at a major Pan-Arab conference to be held in Dubai this month titled “Human & Economic Development through Technology, Policy, Business, Health and Education".

The conference will be held from March 22-23 at Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai under the patronage of His Highness, General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence. It is being organized by the Arab Alumni Association of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), one of the world’s most prestigious centers of higher education.

Papers on the the UAE and the Omani healthcare systems will be presented at a session devoted to healthcare titled "Transforming Health, A New Era" on the second day of the conference. Among those who will be speaking at this session are His Excellency Mr. Hamad Abdul Rahman Al Midfaa, UAE Minister of Health, His Excellency Mohamad Hassan Ali, Undersecretary, Ministry of Health, Oman, Professor Assaf F. Al-Assaf, University of Oklahoma, Health Sciences Center and Dr. Sultan Bahabri, CEO, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Conference Organiser Ms. Lama Rimawi of MITAA, said: "With the subject of adequate, proper and affordable healthcare assuming greater significance and being placed high on the agenda of governments  across the world,  this session on health will address the challenges that face Arab countries in their efforts to create high quality healthcare systems including the limitation on resources and finances. Experts will also discuss how Arab countries can collaborate with each other to establish strong and functional healthcare systems."

She added: "The objective of this important session is to define the best practices for successful healthcare systems based on the results of a Global Health Survey undertaken in 2000 by the World Health Organisation. The successful UAE and Omani models will be examined during this session to give participants an insight into how these two countries achieved high quality healthcare systems and how other countries in the region can learn from,  and even emulate some of these practices."

The Global Health Survey carried out by WHO is the first ever analysis of the world's health systems. WHO used the following five performance indicators to measure health systems in 191 member states; 

1)   Overall level of population health.  

2)   Health inequalities (or disparities) within the population.

3)   Overall level of health system responsiveness (a combination of patient
satisfaction and how well the system acts).

4)   Distribution of responsiveness within the population (how well people of varying
economic status find that they are served by the health system),

5)   The distribution of the health system’s financial burden within the population (who
pays the costs).

Commenting on the survey, WHO Director-General Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland said: "The main message from this report is that the health and well-being of people around the world depend critically on the performance of the health systems that serve them. Yet there is wide variation in performance, even among countries with similar levels of income and health expenditure. It is essential for decision- makers to understand the underlying reasons so that system performance, and hence the health of populations, can be improved."

According to the WHO report on health systems, many countries in the Middle East and North Africa are ranked high in the overall ratings with Oman in 8^th place, Saudi Arabia in 26^th, UAE in 27^th and Morocco in 29^th position.

At the symposium in Dubai, His Excellency Mohamad Hassan Ali, Undersecretary, Ministry of Health, Oman will enlighten participants on how his country achieved the dramatic transformation in healthcare in a relatively short period of time. In 1970, Oman's healthcare system was not performing well with the high child mortality rate being a matter of concern. However, major investments made by the government since then has tremendously contributed to the vast improvement in healthcare in Oman. 

UAE's Minister of  Health, His Excellency Mr. Hamad Abdul Rahman Al Midfaa, will speak on how Dubai and the UAE achieved world-class quality healthcare systems, the challenges faced by his ministry and how they were overcome, how is UAE addressing the issues of medical and scientific research and their relevance to economic and human development and what type of collaboration will help benefit this region. 

Professor Assaf F. Al-Assaf, University of Oklahoma, Health Sciences Center will speak on the "Best Practices based on the WHO Global Health Survey". Dr.  Al-Assaf is a physician  with a Masters degree and a Diploma in Cardio-thoracic Medicine from the University of London. He also holds a Masters of Public Health Administration degree from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Al-Assaf is also a consultant in preventive medicine and quality management with strong skills in performance measurements, data management and program evaluation. He provides advice on primary health care and healthcare quality program design, implementation, assessment and improvement in the U.S. and other countries worldwide.  

A line-up of eminent speakers from the Arab World, Europe and North America  has been put together for this conference Key areas of discussion during the two-day event will be Research and development in the Arab World and its prospects; Global Oil Dynamics and the Diversification of Oil Economies; Technology, Investment and Economic Development; Transforming Healthcare; Dilemmas of Working Women; Transforming the Education Landscape in the Middle East and Leadership. 

More than 500 delegates and speakers are expected to attend the two-day conference, which is  being sponsored by world-class international firms including the Abdul Latif Jameel Group, Saudi Aramco, Deutsche Bank, McKinsey, and Bayt.com, among others. The conference is the fourth of its kind to be organized by MIT Arab Alumni Association . The 2002 conference was held in Beirut; the 2001 conference in Amman and the inaugural 2000 conference was held in Cairo. 

Registration for this year's Pan-Arab Conference can be done either online by logging on to www.mitaaa.org or through e-mailing MITAAA at panarabconf@mit.edu. As MITAA's mission is long-term and aimed at improving human and economic development in the Arab world, the conference organizers have decided to hold the event regardless of whether there is an escalation or not in the current regional situation over Iraq. 

MITAAA was founded in 1997 as a venue for Arab alumni of MIT to contribute back to the region.  The missions of the association include supporting the spread of science and technology in the region, to contribute to the economic and human development of the region; and to promote East-West understanding within the MIT community and the Arab world.