Conference of the Middle East and Africa Council of Ophthalmology “MIAKO” in Bahrain
On behalf of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, His Royal Highness Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, inaugurated the thirteenth International Conference of the Middle East and Africa Council of Ophthalmology “MIAKO” in the Bahraini capital, Manama, in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Middle East and Africa Council of Ophthalmology and a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Agency for Combating Blindness, Their Highnesses and Excellencies, and the Bahraini Minister of Health, Faiqia Al-Saleh.
The ceremony opened with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, then the Minister of Health in the Kingdom of Bahrain gave a speech welcoming the attendees and thanked His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz and members of the Board of Directors of the Middle East and Africa Council of Ophthalmology for choosing Bahrain to hold this important conference, which enjoys the support of the Ministry of Health In Bahrain, in cooperation with the International Council of Ophthalmology, the University of Maryland in the United States of America, the Bahraini Association of Ophthalmologists, and the Ophthalmology Department of the Salmaniya Medical Complex, with the participation of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.
His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Middle East and Africa Council of Ophthalmology, delivered a speech in which he welcomed His Highness Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, His Excellency the Minister of Health Sub-Saleh, the Excellencies and all the participants and attendees of the conference, and said: “I am pleased to express my happiness to be with you in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which is witnessing the thirteenth International Conference of the Middle East and Africa Council of Ophthalmology,“ MEACO ”, which is held in light of the many challenges and circumstances facing the region that affect the various medical specialties in it, especially ophthalmology.
In his speech, His Highness touched on the conditions and challenges facing the Middle East and Africa region, saying: “Perhaps the most significant challenges in the Middle East and Africa region are the changes in the demographic structure of the population, which have led to a significant increase in the number of elderly people significantly, and thus led to an increase in care. Medical, especially eye care, and this is evident in the high incidence of eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and other diseases that require high costs to treat them if they are not diagnosed early, which requires research and study to find appropriate solutions to limit the spread of these diseases and confront The causes of blindness, which has become a threat to society, and in light of these difficult economic conditions that the region is going through, we seek to provide medical care with the best available means at the lowest costs.
His Highness explained that the thirteenth international conference of the Middle East and Africa Council of Ophthalmology “MIAKO” will this year include (90) scientific sessions and (95) scientific sessions, presented by (327) speakers, including (230) international speakers, as the number of participants in the conference reached More than (2000) participants ”.
His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz concluded his speech by saying: “On behalf of all conference participants, I extend my sincere thanks to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, to His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister, sponsor of the conference, and to his owner His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, for their support for medicine in general and ophthalmology in particular in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Thanks are extended to His Excellency Professor Faik Al-Saleh, Minister of Health, and to all employees of the Ministry of Health and the organizing committees of the conference, wishing the participants lasting success.
After that, His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz and Minister of Health Ultra-Saleh honored the winners of the conference awards, and the Prince Abdulaziz bin Ahmed Prize for the Prevention of Blindness was awarded to Dr. Adrian Hopkins from the United States of America, and the Miyako Lifetime Achievement Award won by Dr. Marlin Miller from The United States of America, the Miyako Excellence Award won by Dr. Ali bin Abdullah Al-Rajhi from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Maghrabi International Award, which was received by Professor Farhad Hafez, from Switzerland, and the Marc Tso Gold Award, which was won by Dr. Ghalib Dimail from Nigeria.
Then His Highness Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa opened the medical exhibition accompanying the conference, which will continue until May 8, 2016.
