(Note:This section is based upon the reports sent by the readers and is published in good faith to share the ongoing academic activities in the target area, e.g. South Asia and Middle East. The editorial board of the journal accepts no responsibility for the correctness of the contents and any consequences whatsoever.)
9th SAARCAA Congress, Bangalore (INDIA)
It was the second time around that the meeting of the SAARC Association of Anesthesiologists, traversed the path of India. This 9th SAARCAA Congress was held in Bangalore, from 26 – 28 August 2011. A colorful Inauguration was rich in culture and tradition. National societies of all SAARC nations were represented on the stage by their presidents. WFSA president and members were also present in a good number. The congress comprised of an extremely elaborate scientific program spanned over three days highlighting regional issues. Both academic and clinical concerns of the region were discussed at length in different seminars and symposia.
A large delegation from Pakistan participated in this congress and also made scientific contributions to it. Invited talks were given by Prof. Tipu Sultan, Dr. Akhtar Aziz Khan, Prof. Saeeda Haider, Dr. Nighat Abbas and Dr. Safia Zafar. Poster presentations were also made by juniors from Pakistan.
Business meetings were held amongst the executive committee members of the SAARC nations. Prof. Deepak Malavi, the president of Indian Society of Anesthesiologists was declared the president of SAARCAA and Prof. P.F.Kotour was made the CEO because of his immense contributions. Bangladesh accepted the responsibility of holding the 10th SAARCAA congress in 2013. Business meetings were also held with the WFSA officials. After prolonged deliberations WFSA accepted and now recognizes SAARCAA as a true representative body of this region and in future due accreditation will be given to it.
The president with a team of members of Pakistan Society of Anesthesiologists also had a very fruitful meeting with the WFSA members. WFSA showed its keenness to have PSA on board, however the matter of reducing the registration fee for the world congress was deferred till the next meeting.
4th CEEA CME Course
The 4th CEEA CME Course was organized by the Armed Forces of Cardiology & National Institute of Heart Diseases for the Rawalpindi-Islamabad region from 9th to 11th September, 2011. The topic of this course was ‘Intensive Care, Emergency Medicine, Blood & Blood Transfusion’. Due to very successful previous courses, the number of registrants for this course was record 79.
The course included lectures by the faculty members from Lahore and Karachi as well. Presence of Dr. Muhammad Ayub, professor of haematology, made the panel discussion on ‘Safety & Legal Issues in Blood Transfusion’, very lively and a huge success. A lot of discussion was generated and many questions answered. The course also included hands-on workshops on ‘Cell Savers’ and ‘Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy’.
Overall, it was a great effort by Professor Shahab Naqvi and his organizing team, and was immensely lauded by the participants.
