Dubai Health Authority Public Health and Safety department in Collaboration with World Federation of Public Health Associations

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1 Dubai Health Authority Public Health and Safety department in Collaboration with World Federation of Public Health Associations 1 st Arab World Public Health Conference (4-6 April 2013, Dubai- UAE) Overview The Arab world is a distinct geographic and cultural entity, with complex demographic characteristics. Arab countries had frequently faced multifaceted health challenges, including gaps and weaknesses in population health status and widening inequalities among and within countries. Public health is a core element of all countries attempts to improve and promote the health and welfare of their citizens. Every country needs an effective, comprehensive and suitably resourced public health infrastructure. To strengthen public health, however, countries must have a clear understanding of what public health infrastructure they should have in place. Although the core areas of public health are generally understood, in many cases it has proved difficult for countries to define these further in a more detailed and systematic way. 1

2 If public health is to be at the center of health improvement then public health operations, capacities and services must be strengthened. This requires a clear definition of the role of public health, together with its working concepts, boundaries and interrelationships. It is also important that essential public health operations are defined and performance measured. In its declaration at the 12 th World Congress on Public Health, held in Istanbul, Turkey in 2009, the WFPHA adopted a resolution that re-emphasized, Health as a Human Right. The declaration noted, Now is the time for all those who affect the lives of others, working in government, industry, and in civil society, and as health care workers, academics, community and faith-based leaders, and citizens, to affirm the fundamental and elemental importance of public goods, including public health, and to assert and practice the basic human values of solidarity, sustainability, morality, justice, equity, fairness and tolerance. The 1 st Arab World Conference on Public Health, to be hosted by Dubai Health Authority and held from 4 to 6 April 2013 in Dubai, will bring together leaders in public health from different Arab countries and health experts across the globe to discuss these important issues. The Conference will harness the synergy and strengths of innovation and experience from the developing and developed worlds. It will address the current status of public health 2

3 services in the Arab world and the enormous challenges and opportunities facing public health organizations in making progress towards collectively attaining public health excellence. The World Federation of Public Health Associations and the department of Public health and Safety at Dubai Health Authority invite local, national and international public health leaders, service providers, advocates, trainers and students to submit abstracts dealing with major issues related to promoting world class public health services opportunity and threats. These abstracts should demonstrate the role that public health could play in addressing emerging issues and current problems that contribute to public health disparities in the Arab world. Abstracts should also show case innovations, tools, transferrable knowledge, and technology. Highlighting these lessons learned from across the globe, will help us make collective decisions and recommendations to the Arab world health community, thereby, moving us forward towards public health excellence. Conference Theme: Towards Excellence in Public Health: Opportunities and Challenges 3

4 Sub-Themes: 1. Leadership in Public health 2. Health system development and capacity building in Public health 3. Research and Health information 4. Public Health policies and strategies 5. Community partnering for better health Conference Objectives: 1. Serve as a regional forum for exchange of knowledge and experiences on key public health issues in the Arab countries 2. Contribute towards promoting and protecting public health at regional and national levels. 3. Create a better understanding and discussion of the Arab world major public health challenges within the global public health community. 4. Facilitate and support the development of the Arab World Public Health Association (AWPHA) Conference Participants: The conference participants will include a diverse mix of public health professionals including: Public health professionals, including but not limited to (public health experts and professors, policy makers, public health physicians, public health nurses, public health officers, students, researchers) 4

5 Staff of established public health institutes Physicians in health care services Members of NGOs and Community organizations Topics: Health Systems Development and reform Non-communicable Diseases Innovative Approaches for Health Promotion Communicable diseases Prevention and control Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness: Lessons learned and challenges ahead Occupational and environmental health safer communities Public Health Laws and Regulations Capacity Building for Public Health Health Insurance: Implications for Public Health Quality in health care School health Promoting mental health Community welfare ( MCH, adult health services, geriatric care etc ) Travelers health 5