Dubai: Dubai has won the bid to host the International Association for Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) Congress in 2022. The conference will be held under the patronage of the Chairperson of Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA) HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein. The wining bid was presented during the IACAPAP Congress in Calgary, Canada, by Al Jalila Children’s – the only dedicated paediatric hospital in the UAE, the Emirates Child Mental Health Society, an entity working under the umbrella of the Emirates Medical Association and supported by Dubai Tourism.
The conference is held once in two years.
Commenting on this, Dr Ammar Al Banna, president of the Emirates Child Mental Health Society and head of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre of Excellence at Al Jalila Children’s Research Foundation, said: “Mental disorders affect about one in five children and adolescents, and are among the top causes of disability, according to the WHO.”
He added that with the advent of modern technology, child mental health was on the verge of witnessing a revolution. “Advancements in brain imaging, genomics and personalised medicine, psychiatric diagnosis will become more specific and treatments more personalised, shaping the way for better outcomes. The conference will focus on the role of modern technology in shaping the future of child mental health, and there is no better place to examine this theme than in Dubai.”
