PESHAWAR, Dec 10: A three-day biennial conference of the Pakistan Medical Association will be held from Dec 13-15, to apprise doctors and common people about the latest developments in the field of medical science.

Speaking at a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club here on Tuesday, the PMA President, Dr Umar Ayub Khan, said that doctors from Pakistan and abroad would share knowledge about new research in the field of medical science in the silver jubilee edition of the biennial conference.

He said that medical experts from the USA, UK and other European countries had been invited to attend the event. The PMA, he said, was always at the forefront in providing a healthy environment to the people and to educate them about the precautionary measures about different diseases.

Flanked by Dr Akbar Khalil and others, Dr Umar said that medical experts would present papers on quackery, medical ethics, hepatitis, safe blood transfusion and viral diseases. Besides, he said, sessions had been arranged for undergraduate doctors to impart them necessary know-how in the diagnosis and treatment of patients.

Since its establishment in 1948, the PMA had been striving hard to provide the people with health education in order to protect them from a host of preventable ailments, he added.

He said after the promulgation of Blood Transfusion Ordinance, there was a dire need on the part of health administrators and professionals to implement it in letter and spirit. He said that unscreened blood was unsafe for transfusion and the medical community should avoid transfusion of unscreened blood. A large number of people fell victim to killer diseases like AIDS and hepatitis due to the transfusion of unscreened blood, he added.

He also demanded of the government to put a stop to quackery.

Dr Umar also expressed concern over increasing number of unemployed doctors in the country and demanded of the government to provide them with jobs.

On the occasion he also announced that the PMA election would be held on Dec 15.