KARACHI: The Pakistan Islamic Medical Association will organise free blood screening and diagnostic camps on March 2, the first day of its 22nd biennial international convention, at the Expo Centre.
Chief coordinator of the PIMA convention Dr Sohail Akhtar told reporters on Tuesday that elaborate arrangements had been made to increase public awareness of non-communicable diseases and provide short duration investigations and screening of blood to the public during the convention.
He said a public awareness session titled ‘Take control of your own health’ would be held from 3pm to 5pm on March 2, when Prof S.M. Rab, Prof A. Gaffar Billoo, Prof Ejaz Vohra, Prof Javaid A. Khan, Prof Iqbal Afridi and Prof Huma Qureshi would speak on diabetes, diseases of children, heart diseases, tobacco and health, mental illness and hepatitis, respectively.
After the lectures people would be welcome to have free investigations and checkups for hepatitis, blood sugar, body mass index, bone mineral density, antenatal screening, breast cancer examinations and memory tests, he added.
Dr Shahid Noor, the organising secretary of the convention, said the three-day convention would be formally inaugurated by Prof Dr Attaur Rahman on March 3.
The convention, which would include a number of foreign experts, would be a mix of science, education, ethics, and religion and health advocacy. A session would also be dedicated to health policies and doctors issues, Dr Noor said, adding that in addition to 12 scientific sessions on mental health, immunisation, chest diseases, bone and joint diseases, dentistry, gynaecological oncology, urology, dermatology, diabetes mellitus, quality health care, various plenary lectures and six workshops would be held on March 4.
Dr Ahmad Salman Ghauri, PIMA Karachi president, said the theme chosen for the convention reflected the need for all organisations working for the betterment of society to work in harmony.
Experts from Jordan, Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia were included among the 174 experts taking part in the convention, he added.