Qatar University (QU) will host on Wednesday its second Child Nutrition Conference under the theme 'Emerging insights into Nutrition in Paediatric Metabolic Diseases in Children', in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), the Ministry of Health, and researchers from Qatar and beyond.
The two-day conference aims to discuss and share knowledge on the latest developments in child nutrition.
Associate vice-president for Health Sciences and Medicine at the QU, Prof Feras Alali, said: "The conference embodies our institution's commitment to enhancing collaboration between health specialties, promoting interdisciplinary research and innovation in the field of child nutrition.”
“This aligns with our university's strategy to enhance research and increase its impact to meet the needs of the community,” he said. “The conference also reflects the State's vision in the Third National Strategy 2024-2030 to provide a high-quality life through excellence in healthcare and achieve performance indicators such as increasing average life expectancy and reducing mortality."
Prof Alali said that the conference would serve as a platform for experts, researchers, and healthcare professionals to exchange knowledge and experiences and present the latest innovations in addressing complex nutritional issues in children.
Dean of the QU’s College of Health Sciences, Dr Hanan Abdulrahim, spoke about the success of the inaugural conference, stating: "The positive reception of the first edition encouraged us to continue and launch the second edition, focusing on a crucial theme: child nutrition.”
“This conference will address these issues from early stages to late interventions, such as obesity surgery, aligning with the college's commitment to addressing health needs and priorities in Qatar and ensuring that scientific research is in line with topics relevant to the state and the health of citizens, starting with children's health,” she said.
"In collaboration with the WHO, the conference will host five distinguished researchers presenting success stories in child nutrition research,” conference chair Dr Reema Tayyem said. “Additionally, the WHO will conduct two workshops specialising in various aspects of nutrition will be conducted during the conference days, including workshops by the HMC."
Head of the Nutrition Department and Scientific Committee Chair for the conference, Dr Maya Bassil, highlighted the diversity of research topics to be presented.
These include evaluations of food, weight deficiencies, and excesses in children and adolescents, integration into healthcare systems, policy proposals, and evaluations.
The research covers food insecurity, especially during coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic restrictions, nutritional interventions for children with autism, and diabetes management.
The conference brings together participants from various countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Palestine, Lebanon, Turkiye, Libya, the US and the UK.
The officials at the news conference.
