Arab world short of 160,000 physicians

With its population over 350 million, the Arab world now needs more than 160,000 specialist family physicians.

However, what is actually available is far fewer than that. Experts warn that efforts must be made to establish training programmes and produce skilled family physicians that can provide definitive care and preventative services to each member of the patient family regardless of sex, age, or type of problem, be it biological, behavioral or social.

''For the developing countries, and especially the Arab world, family medicine ought to be the ultimate goal of health provision,'' says Prof Faisal Abdul Latif Alnasir, Chairman, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain.

''The health of any nation is only developed and promoted by adequate and quality primary healthcare services which formulate the base of the pyramid of any health services.

''The high prevalence of non-communicable diseases, communicable diseases and hereditary and genetic disorders necessitate the implementation of family medicine in this part of the world.

Since its establishment more than twenty years ago, the Arab Board of Health Specializations has been advocating family medicine. Prof. Alnasir, who is President of the Board’s Scientific Council, says, “The Board has continued to offer assistance to any Arab state desiring to establish the discipline of Family Medicine into its training programme. Despite that, unfortunately, up until now only around a handful of programmes recognised by the Board have been established in the Arab world mainly due to lack of commitment by the relevant authorities.”

Prof Alnasir will be speaking at the newly developed Family Medicine Conference which will take place on October 23-25, 2011 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center.

As a medical specialty that covers healthcare for all ages, the range of topics covered at the Family Medicine Conference will include adolescent medicine to therapeutics to prevention in family medicine. With three days to cover the latest and most pertinent issues, delegates will get a fresh look into the world of family medicine.

Running alongside the Congress is a 6,000sqm exhibition which will attract over 150 companies, including Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), Mubadala Healthcare, Lifeline Hospital Group, Pfizer, Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City and Lagos '&' Partners, looking to showcase their latest products and services in these sectors.