 |
          |
 |
  |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
On behalf of the Ministry of Public Health of Lebanon, it gives me great pleasure to welcome the participants at the first Global Medical Forum Middle East Summit and to extend to all a pleasant and fruitful stay in the country. This Summit is organized by the Global Medical Forum Foundation, based in Zurich, Switzerland, in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health of Lebanon and the Lebanese HealthCare Management Association. The Global Medical Forum Middle East Summit is a professional platform for leaders in healthcare in the Middle East to discuss rational solutions to the healthcare debate. The Summit provides a venue where Ministers of Health, Academicians, Researchers, International and Regional Health Organizations, Leaders in the global medical businesses (pharmaceuticals, medical devices, insurance, biotechnology), CEOs of Insurance companies, Banks, Officials from Regulatory medical bodies can come together to better understand their inter-relationship in a global economy and a world where disease knows no borders. The pace of discovery and innovation is increasing steadily. At the same time the social and political issues surrounding healthcare and its provision are also mounting. To harmonize these trends is one of the overriding goals of the Global Medical Forum Foundation. Every nation - every healthcare business leader, health minister, and scientist - faces virtually the same challenges in advancing new technologies through an efficient and rational system of healthcare financing. The issues that these leaders face are more similar than different. The Global Medical Forum Foundation is pleased to time its first summit in Beirut two days before the opening of the XXXVIIIth Middle East Medical Assembly, to be held in Beirut from 13 to 17 May 2004. As the GMF Summit ends, the XXXVIIIth MEMA will start. Walid Ammar MD, PhD
It gives us pleasure to welcome you to this first GMF Summit: Middle East in Beirut, Lebanon, an event, that we hope will become a yearly tradition. The principal purpose of the GMF Summit: Middle East is to bring together decision-makers from the public and private sectors to discuss issues that will improve the provision of healthcare to the peoples of the region. As it happens so often, policy makers and ministers of health meet together, while physicians, pharmacists, nurses, CEOs and managers of hospitals, insurance companies, pharmaceutical firms and medical technology businesses meet separately without the officials from the public sector. However they rarely sit down and discuss together issues that are of common interest to both sectors and to the populations of our countries. The GMF Summit: Middle East will provide this platform and become the forum where cooperative ventures are discussed and planned. The Summit brings professionals and experts who have substantial experience both inside and outside the region to share what they have learned about issues that are of major consequence to the health of our peoples. As healthcare systems in this part of the world are coming under significant cost, equity, quality and access pressures, how other nations have dealt with these challenges can be of value. The Summit is financed by organizations, companies, institutions and associations. They are our partners and have made it possible for us all to gather here and discuss issues of importance to all of us. Our partners cover entirely the costs of this Summit; and we are indeed most grateful for their generosity and support. It is in the spirit of the goals of the Global Medical Forum Foundation and a belief that participants in the global healthcare system have much to learn from one another that the Foundation is organizing this Summit for the Middle East. We hope that you will enjoy your stay in Lebanon and find in this GMF Summit: Middle East an opportunity to further your goals and aspirations in the improvement of the health status of your constituencies. Nabil M Kronfol MD, DrPH
The countries of the Middle East comprise a
heterogeneous assemblage of societies some of which
are poor and others fabulously wealthy. From Qatar to
Mauritania, these nations face challenges in all aspects of
healthcare delivery whether it is primary care centers,
hospital equipment, medical teaching institutions or the
supply of trained and committed personnel. One
challenge unifies all of these areas: The proper
integration of new therapies, medical technologies and
information systems. In no other region of the world are
the possibilities so great and, at the same time, the
physical and cultural barriers so complex. This summit
will explore these possibilities from three distinct
perspectives: public policy & finance, therapeutics and
technology. There is today a unique opportunity to bring
together the countries of the region into a pan-Middle
Eastern vision of fast-paced and efficient medical
development.
To reach the broadest base of those in policy and the marketplace, the Global Medical Forum Foundation has enlisted the active support and involvement of key nonpartisan healthcare groups as well as market-leading companies that share the Foundation's commitment to sharing the facts about the healthcare challenge. These organizations have been invaluable in ensuring that the topics and speakers at the forthcoming Summit address the issues of greatest interest to Middle Eastern health policy and market leaders. For this first Summit, the Foundation has been honored to have innovative organizations as partners for the planning and/or financing of the event. These are listed on the back cover. The Global Medical Forum Foundation is pleased to hold its first Summit in Beirut just two days before the opening of the XXXVIIIth Middle East Medical Assembly (MEMA), to be held in Beirut from 13 to 16 May 2004. As the GMF Summit ends, the 38th MEMA will start. MEMA was initiated in 1951. It is organized by the Faculty of Medicine and the Medical Alumni Association of the American University of Beirut and is partnered with the prestigious Cleveland Clinic Foundation. It gives us all great pleasure to invite you to share with us both of these events. |
|
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
GMF | 2.0
|
