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The UAE capital has been selected to host, in 2015, the 16th World Conference on Tobacco and Health (WCTOH) - a triennial gathering of international advocacy, public policy and health research experts working together to achieve the goals of the world’s first public health treaty, the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC).
Globally, tobacco use is a major public health problem, linked to six million deaths each year, according to the WHO. Most of these tobacco-related deaths now occur in low- and middle-income countries, regions that the WCTOH has specifically prioritised for inclusion in the 2015 summit.
"Tobacco use is not just a problem for individual people or nations; it is a collective health responsibility for mankind," said Dr. Wael Al Mahmeed, Board Member, Emirates Cardiac Society, which collaborated on the bid to host the conference. "In years to come, we want Abu Dhabi 2015 to be remembered as the place where the world collectively said: ’enough is enough’." The WCTOH will mark its Middle East debut at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) in March 2015, when the five-day conference will convene 3,000 specialists from governmental and non-governmental organisations collaborating on medical, public health, and public policy agendas related to global tobacco control. Previous WCTOH events have been held in Helsinki, Finland (2003); Washington DC (2006); Mumbai, India (2009); and Singapore, which concluded hosting the 15th summit last month.
Abu Dhabi was selected to host the WCTOH by the unanimous decision of the International Liaison Group on Tobacco or Health (ILGTH), fending off rival bids from seven other countries.
The result of a collaborative effort by Emirates Cardiac Society, the Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD), and Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, the bid drew on experience gained from February’s highly successful World Ophthalmology Congress 2012 - the capital’s largest-ever conference.
"Our multi-faceted bid brought together so many attributes - from the UAE capital’s prime geographical location, which is easily accessible to delegates, to its philanthropic promise to expand the international reach of the conference," said HE Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General, Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority.
A decisive pillar in Abu Dhabi’s winning bid was a philanthropic financial aid policy that will provide travel grant assistance to delegates from low- and middle-income countries, especially the developing nations of Africa and Asia, where the tobacco pandemic poses the greatest threat. Making the conference accessible to developing countries is a crucial goal of the WCTOH.
Professor Harry Lando, Chair of the ILGTH, believes Abu Dhabi can be a genuine turning point in the global fight to control tobacco.
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