MoU signed between International Hospital Federation (IHF) and Gulf Medical College Ajman

The Gulf Medical College entered into an agreement with the International Hospital Federation for collaborative activities in the region. Prof. Per-Gunnar Svensson, Director General of IHF and Mr. Thumbay Moideen, the Founder President of the college signed a Memorandum of Understanding to this effect on the 12th of September 2005 at the college during the IHF director general’s visit. The regional representative for IHF and Managing Director of INDEX Conferences & Exhibitions, Mr. Abdul Salam Al Madani and Dr. Zuheir Amin, Adviser, Economic Department, Ruler’s Court Ajman, Dean Prof. S. Rangaswami and other officials from the college witnessed the ceremony.

Prof. Svensson thanked Mr. Thumbay Moideen, for presenting this initiative and opportunity that will undoubtedly enable the IHF to make positive progress in realising certain of its primary objectives.

I would like to express my excitement and encouragement at this initiative as, firstly, it falls within one of IHF’s primary goals of promoting cross-fertilisation of ideas among and through its membership; and secondly the region and target audience of your publication, fall within the area and group that the IHF is seeking not only to extend but to strengthen its presence and activities, Prof. Svensson said during the signing ceremony. We are happy to invite and involve INDEX, a long-standing, active and well-proven member of the IHF from UAE, with whom we have and continue to collaborate closely, he added.

We are equally excited and look forward to the opportunity to work with an international body like IHF, Mr. Moideen said. He elaborated on the achievements of the college and presented details of college activities to the visitors. ‘We will contribute towards realisation of the goals of IHF in the region through our proactive initiatives and look forward to expanding our joint activities in the future’, he added.

The primary contacts for implementation of the MoU will be Ravi T., Chief Coordinator, Conference Secretariat, Gulf Medical College, Ms. Sheila Anazonwu, IHF Communications & Development Programmes Officer, France, Mr. Abdul Salam Al Madani, Managing Director, INDEX Mr. Trevor Brooker of Pro-Brook Publishing Company, UK.

About Conference Secretariat –
the Health Communications Division at GMCA:

The Conference Secretariat publishes HEALTH Journal, which is in its seventh year of publication. It is a Bi-monthly bi-lingual health magazine (printed back to back in English and Arabic).

· The magazine is one of the long- standing publications in the region, which is in its seventh year of publication.
· GMCA is the first medical school in the region to have started publishing a magazine.
· GMCHJ is in tie-up with Mayo Clinic, USA, Johns Hopkins, USA, and the International Hospital Federation, France, to carry articles from their experts.
· Reaches over 42 countries with a readership of over 70,000 professionals.

CME activities: It plans and implements Symposia, Seminars and Conferences. It is responsible to identify, co-ordinate, communicate and to invite local and internationally eminent scientists to such conferences. The main aim of organizing such regular events is to create a platform for health care professionals and scientists to address various impending health issues facing the world in general and the Gulf countries in particular.
· We have organized 24 such events over the last five years.
· All our events are accredited
· We are a professional unit, specialised in organizing scientific events in the UAE and abroad.
· First ever conference in the last 25 years was held in Kabul, Afghanistan, which was organized by Conference Secretariat-GMCA, in October 2003.
· Future programs include conferences in Malaysia, Pakistan and India in the year 2006.