Dubai,Apr 01th, 2010 (WAM) -- On behalf of Dubai Deputy Ruler and UAE Minister of Finance HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Director General of the Dubai Health Authority( DHA) Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid opened the 3rd international conference on neonatal this morning at the Grand Regency Hotel.

The two-day conference is held under patronage of his H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the President of the DHA and is organized by the DHA in collaboration with the Emirates Medical Association.

Over the next two days , 14 international speakers and six national speakers will hold lectures on evidence-based developments in neonatology, which is a specialized field dealing with the care of preterm babies and babies who require special care because they suffer from problems such as respiration, nutrition etc.

Prior to the conference, three neonatology workshops were held in the field of ventilation, nutrition and infection control.

Present during the opening ceremony of the conference were Dr Mohammad Olama, CEO of Hospital Services Sector, Dr Abdullah Al Khayat, CEO of Al Wasl Hospital, Dr Ali Al Numairy, President of the Emirates Medical Society, Dr Hassain Kamil Bahaddin, Ex-Minister of Health Education in Egypt and President of the Egyptian Paediatric Association.

Al Murooshid said in his opening speech: "The DHA has always emphasized on the importance of mother and child care, especially ensuring that we provide the best medical services for newborn babies and with this vision in mind Al Wasl hospital was built more than two decades ago. Al Wasl hospital is one of the main hospitals in the UAE which specializes in neonatal care. It is our aim to ensure that we provide the our children with the most advanced medical services and thus as per the orders of our ruler, we are building the Al Jalila Children's specialty hospital which will be a super-specialty multidisciplinary hospital that will provide the children of the UAE and this region the very best medical treatment.""Neonatolgy remains an important aspect of childcare and thus conferences such as this one are important for they provide evidence-based updates in neonatology," he added.

Dr. Khaled El Atawi, Specialist senior registrar Neonatology, Al Wasl Hospital and Vice President of Neonatal society - Emirates Medical Association, said:"The aim of this conference is to provide relevant, succinct and factual information in a format conducive to the daily practices of neonatologists because neonatology is a rapidly developing field and it is pertinent for neonatologists to be abreast with the latest advances in the field."El Atawi, highlighted that the conference is a platform where eminent neonatologists come together and discuss important issues. He mentioned that Prof. George Simbruner, the chairman of IPOKRaTES organization, is one of the eminent speakers who is present at the conference and also conducted a workshop for neonatologists.

The topics that the conference will cover over the next two days include, neonatal CNS mainly those related to asphyxia and intraventricular haemorrhage, neonatal nutrition and surgical emergencies, neonatal respiratory disorders and evidence based management in respiratory care as well as updates related to frequent neonatal problems.

The conference has been accredited 19 CME hours from Faculty of Medicine and Health Science - Al Ain University, while each workshop is accredited 4.5 CME hours.

The neonatologists who organized the conference include Dr Ayman Rehami, Dr Mohammed Sadik, Dr Hakim Yasim, Dr Mohmoud El Halik Dr Junaid Khan, Dr Faisal Azziddin and Dr Khaled El Atawi.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2010.