Yemeni-Saudi conference focuses on immune system diseases [Archives:2006/999/Front Page]
By: Imad Al-Saqqaf
TAIZ, Nov. 15 ) The second Yemeni-Saudi Allergy and Immune System Diseases Conference concludes today after three days of sessions and information exchange between Yemeni and Saudi specialists.
More than 150 doctors, research and medical specialists participated in discussing 50 technical working papers, which focused on three basic areas: infectious diseases, especially AIDS, the immune system and its diseases and allergies. Attendees discussed various immune deficiencies, especially HIV, as well as allergies present in the Yemeni community.
Taiz University College of Medicine organized the event, in coordination with the National Saudi Center for Allergy, Asthma and Immune System Diseases and Saudi's King Fahd University Medical Center. Yemen's Hayel Sa'eed Group and Omar Al-Esayi Saudi Establishment also financially supported the organization of the conference.
Dr. Emad Koshak, head of the conference's Saudi scientific delegation, stated that the most important recommendations the conference would yield were to find solutions to treating immune system diseases and agree on a mechanism to provide asthma medicine. He added that today's laboratory specialists can diagnose immune system and allergic diseases by testing for inhibitors in the blood and noting their reactions to chemicals.
Taiz University President Mohammad Abdullah Al-Soufi stated in his welcome speech that the conference was a further step in medical cooperation between the two nations, especially since immune system and allergic diseases concern both Yemeni and Saudi authorities.
On behalf of the Saudi delegation, Dr. Jamil Abdulwali Al-Mughales, head of King Fahd Medical Center's Allergy and Immune System Medical Services, confirmed this point, adding that because AIDS is an especially great concern, the conference aimed to lay a foundation for a common strategy to fight HIV, as well as other less attention-getting diseases like asthma and allergies.
The conference was especially important because both the Yemeni and Saudi private sectors supported it. Ahmed Hayel Sa'eed of the Hayel Group confirmed the importance of private sector involvement in scientific research and development, asserting that it will lead to a better future for both citizens and the nation.
Shoura Council head Abdulaziz Abdulghani expressed the Yemeni government's commitment to this field, especially as registered HIV cases increase. “We must work at both the cultural awareness and the medical research levels. As we seek to discover treatments for diseases, we must teach ourselves to accept infected individuals and allow them to integrate into society,” he stressed.
According to Yemeni government records, adult HIV/AIDS rate as of 2001 was 0.1 percent, with 12,000 registered cases.
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