Ethiopian Review

Addis Abeba — Meeting the Millennium Development Goals in the Health Sector is the main theme of the 45th annual conference of the Ethiopian Medical Association (EMA), the association said on Tuesday.

The three day conference which kicked off at the UNITED Nations Conference Centre here also includes a medical exhibition.

“This year’s conference panel discussion, from June 3-5, 2009 is believed to provide recommendations and resolutions that will, hopefully, mobilize all of us as professionals to contribute our level best in the national effort to make an important progress towards achieving the MDGs goals,” said Dr.Yirgu Gebrehiwot, President of EMA in a media statement a day ahead of the conference.

With over 1000 active members, the annual medical conference is the premiere gathering place of all medical professionals in the country.

The association said it works closely with the Ministry of Health and CDC Ethiopia to support its members to deliver quality healthcare to Ethiopia’s population.

EMA added that the three-day conference will feature awards to outstanding medical students and to contributors to the medical field, Kellersberger and State of the Art Lectures, as well as 49 abstract and 11 poster presentations.

In conjunction to the topics, the most important part of the conference will be the medical exhibitors who take advantage of this once-a-year opportunity to showcase their products and services to the industry they strongly support, EMA said.

It has been almost a decade since most countries of the world adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Health takes center stage in this initiative.

As the decisive target year of 2015 for meeting the MDGs is fast approaching, it is incumbent upon medical professionals to take stock of Ethiopia’s achievements thus far and remaining challenges, according to EMA.

By focusing on outcomes rather than inputs and outputs, the MDGs draw attention to the multisectoral determinants of development outcomes.

The 45th annual medical conference is sponsored by new industry player, Q-diagnostics and veterans such as ICL, EngenderHealth, JHU Tsehai, ICAP Ethiopia, the Davit & Lucile, Packard Foundation, Fitun Warmline, DKT, among others.

The Ethiopian Medical Association (EMA) has been dedicated to the professional development of medical doctors since its inception in 1961.

EMA has over 1000 active members nationwide and is the sole organization bringing together all specialties of the medial field.

“The annual conference offers medical doctors an opportunity to gain cutting-edge knowledge in the medical industry and network with their peers and vendors from all over the country,” the association said.

- AllAfrica