IOMPS 2019 AS EXCHANGE PLATFORM IN THE FIELD OF ONCOLOGY

GEORGETOWN, March 1st, 2019 - The 2nd AMDI International Oncology & Medical Physics Symposium (IOMPS) 2019 which took place on March 1st, 2019 and ended today was a renowned international and the national second-largest medical oncology and physics symposium.

According to Health Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad, the Ministry of Health is committed to control and prevent cancer in order to reduce the mortality rate caused by the disease.

"Successful preventive and cure of this disease can be accomplished through the cooperation and collaboration of various stakeholders in order to create a strong platform in controlling the disease effectively."

"Currently, Malaysia has only 115 oncologists and out of that, 42 specialists serving for government hospitals while remaining 73 are in the private health sector," he said.

"The Ministry of Health obviously in demands of more experts because the ideal ratio is eight to 10 oncology experts to one million people. While the Malaysian population is 34 million, the current ratio is at 3.4 oncology experts per one million people. It is far lower as compared to the ideal ratio." he added when launching the symposium today.

The symposium has attracted more than 320 participants from 15 countries. A total of 50 international experts in cancer research and treatment will panel in the symposium this time.

Also present at the event were YB Dr. Afif Bahardin. Exco Agriculture & Agro-based Industry, Rural Development & Health, Professor Ir. Dr. Abdul Rahman Mohamed; Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research & Innovation, Professor Dr. Syed Azhar Syed Sulaiman, Director of the Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, USM, Dr. Muhammad Azrif Ahmad Annuar; President of the Malaysian Oncology Association, Professor Richard Cowan; The Director of Education of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Dr. Shazril Imran Shaukat; Chairman of the IOMPS 2019 Symposium.

Text: Muhammad Sallehuddin Abdul Hamid