United Arab Emirates, DUBAI, 29th February 2012: Under the patronage of Chairperson of Dubai Healthcare City Authority HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the 5th Arab Children Health Congress 2012 was inaugurated today by H.E. Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority, on behalf of HRH Princess Haya. The two-day congress is being held at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Academic Medical Center in Dubai Healthcare City.

The theme for this year's Congress is "Childhood Cancer: Towards a Positive Approach," which aims to highlight pediatric cancer issues on a local and regional level and to raise public awareness about the need for early intervention.

H.E. Qadhi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director-General of Dubai Health Authority, said during his opening speech, "This year, the Arab Children Health Congress has chosen the theme of childhood cancer with an aim to raise public awareness about the importance of early intervention as well as discuss the latest treatment methods to ensure the best therapeutic outcomes for patients. Studies done by the Dubai Health Authority and by international, regional and national organizations indicate that there is a need to work extensively to ensure early intervention in the treatment of childhood cancer. We have to ensure that programs are developed and priorities are set to provide early diagnosis and early therapeutic interventions to control the disease and its progress so that patients receive timely treatment."

Al Murooshid highlighted that as per the direct orders of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the DHA is constructing the Al Jalila Children's Specialty Hospital, which once operational, will provide state-of-the-art pediatric care to patients in the UAE and the region. The hospital will have several centres of excellence including oncology that will provide the most advanced diagnostic and therapeutic treatment for children suffering from cancer. The hospital will be located within the Latifa Hospital Complex and is currently being built under the direct supervision and follow up of HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein.

In addition to providing the highest standards of medical care, Al Murooshid also emphasized on the need to provide support and counseling to cancer patients and their families. "There is a need to ensure that all sections of society including family members, teachers, school administrators and peers support children suffering from this disease," he stated.

HE Dr. Elissar Sarrouh, UN Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in the UAE, seconded this opinion and said, "We must provide necessary support for children living with cancer so that they have access to comprehensive healthcare including provision of psycho-social support and counseling services for them and their families. This is important to make sure that they get holistic treatment and can adopt a positive approach in dealing with their disease."

She added that promoting child health remains a priority for the United Nations and an important core for sustainable development. She also added that the World Health Organization calls for maternal and child health protection through programs and special initiatives aimed at reducing morbidity and mortality among children from acute and chronic diseases.

During the two-day conference survivors of childhood cancer and their families will discuss their experiences and the need to encourage a multi-disciplinary approach to tackling the disease which includes psycho-social well-being of children with cancer. The Congress will also tackle topics including childhood leukemia, neuro-oncology challenges and management of childhood cancer.

The Congress highlighted the latest advances in medicine over the years which have helped reduce the mortality rates among children with cancer.

Dr. Abdulrahman Al Jassmi, Consultant Pediatrician, Head of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Dubai Hospital and Chairman of the ACHC said, "Thirty years ago, leukemia (blood cancer), which is one of the most common types of cancer among children, use to cause the death of more than 50 per cent of patients with this disease, within six months of diagnosis. However, today, more than 80 per cent of children with cancer recover fully from this serious illness. Similarly, in the 1950s, since surgery was the only treatment for many kinds of tumors in childhood, the mortality rate for these patients was as high as 80 per cent. Today, with several forms of treatments available, ranging from chemotherapy to radiotherapy, there has been a high decline in mortality rates. For example, the success rate for cases of Lymphoma is now 90 per cent, which is a significant improvement."

Dr. Al Jassmi also provided an overview of the services at the advanced centre for the treatment of blood diseases and cancer, which was inaugurated in 1997 and is located in Dubai Hospital. The centre receives more than 50 per cent of all cases of childhood cancer in the country. In 2011, the centre registered 500 cases of childhood cancers.

Dr. Al Jassmi discussed the importance of management of childhood cancer from a national and regional perspective as well as the importance of supportive care in childhood cancers.

At the end of the opening ceremony, on behalf of HRH Princess Haya, Al Murooshid, distributed gifts to children who are cancer survivors. He visited the activity area, where children had displayed various paintings which expressed their views about childhood cancer and how to stay positive in life despite adversity. Al Murooshid was also given an overview of the pediatric oncology unit at Dubai Hospital.

Over the course of the two-day congress, various esteemed speakers from UAE and the region will discuss pertinent issues on pediatric cancer and its cure.

The Congress is hosting several keynote speakers represented by Dr. Elissar Sarrouh, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in UAE; Dr. Abdulla Al Nasser, Consultant Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist Department of Hematology/Oncology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, KSA; Dr. Faris Madanat, Member, Professor of Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology Head, Leukemia Services Chief Academic Officer, Amman, Jordan; Dr. Sherif Abouelnaga, Professor Pediatric Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, V.P. Academic Affairs, Research and Outreach, Executive Director Fundraising, Children's Cancer Hospital, Egypt; Dr. Samar Muwakkit Balaa; Acting Director, St. Jude Children's Cancer Center of Lebanon, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Lebanon; Dr. Khalid Al Shihhi, Senior Consultant and Head of Pediatrics, Buraimi Hospital,  Sultanate of Oman; Dr. Falah Al Khatib, Consultant Clinical Oncologist and Chief of Radiotherapy Department at Gulf International Cancer Center, Abu Dhabi and Dr. Naima Al Ali, Friends of Cancer Patients - Sharjah, UAE; Ms. Sylvie de Barnier, D.E.S.S in Psychopathology. D.E.A in Social Psychology, Friends of Cancer Patients.

The speakers at the congress from the UAE include, Dr. Abdulrahman Al Jassmi, Consultant Pediatrician, Head of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Dubai Hospital; Ms. Heba Al Shaar, Director, Department of Institutional Marketing and Communications, DHA; Dr. Ziad Al Najjar, Senior Public Health Promotion Specialist, Policy and Strategies Sector Public Health and Safety Department, DHA, Dr. Akram Hilali, Hematopathology Consultant, Blood Donation Center, DHA; Dr. Irmeen Khan, Specialist Registrar Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Dubai Hospital; Dr. Hani Hummad,  Specialist Registrar Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Dubai Hospital, Dr. Abdulrahim Al Suhaili, Associate Professor, Consultant and Head of Nuclear Medicine, Dubai Hospital; Dr. Gururaj Aithala, Consultant, Pediatric Neurologist, Latifa Hospital, Dr. Imad Hashim Ahmad, Consultant Neurosurgeon, Head of Department of Neurosurgery Rashid Hospital and the Canadian Specialty Hospital, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Dubai Medical College.

For further information, please contact:
Heba Al Shaar
Director of Institutional Marketing and Communications
Dubai Health Authority
communication@dha.gov.ae
009714 2197455

© Press Release 2012