Greetings to the world

for the 2nd Asia Pacific Congress, Malaysia, October 1 – 3, 2005

by Union of Risk Management for Preventive Medicine

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Colleagues in the Asia – Pacific region and the world

 

SELAMAT DATANG is our way of welcoming all delegates to our beautiful and peaceful country, Malaysia. It has always been our tradition to honour all esteemed guests to our country and in the spirit of warmth and friendship, we would like to say SELAMAT DATANG to all of you. We are also deeply honoured to host you to our Second Asia Pacific Conference on Risk Management in Preventive Medicine in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia scheduled on October 1-3, 2005. Kota Bharu, meaning Newcastle, is an idyllic city situated in the East Coast State of Kelantan and offers the best of both modern and traditional that so vividly captures the heart of Malaysian cultures. The setting is certainly conducive for serious deliberations on issues pertaining to risk management in the 21st century whilst providing ample opportunities for relaxation and capturing traditional hospitalities in pleasant surroundings. Kota Bharu is also a gateway to so many other wonderful and interesting destinat! ions, including sparkling white sandy beaches, tropical rain forests, and so many other destinations in Malaysia and beyond.

 

This conference is certainly an important milestone in the development of the Union of Risk Management in Preventive Medicine (URMPM), and the Asia Pacific Center of the URMPM is greartly honoured to be given this opportunity to host this Second Conference. The First Conference, which was jointly conducted with URMPM in Tokyo and Kyoto in 2003, was a tremendous success considering the difficulties faced by its pioneers under the abled leadership of Dr. Ryoji Sakai. Since then, URMPM has successfully concluded a series of international conferences, including e-conferences, in Ukraine and Russia, and the last one in Costa Rica was a huge success.

 

Thus, the coming conference would like to engage professionals, academics, scholars, scientists, managers and representatives of workers that are concerned about issues in risk management in preventive medicine to deliberate and examine recent developments in occupational safety and health (OSH) especially in relation to work stress and mental health, occupational asthma and related disorders, solvent exposure and management, ergonomic designs in workplaces, and OSH risks and management in Small and Medium Industries (SMIs). Risk of chemical exposures and management, including pesticides and chemicals commonly employed in industries in the Asia Pacific region, will also be examined critically and we certainly expect a lively discussion on these issues. The threat of emerging infections in the Asia Pacific region such as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Nipah Virus, and the more recent outbreak of Avian Flu has had major impacts on region! al economies and securities and therefore warrant serious deliberations in future prevention and management. The conference also welcome papers that seek to provide concepts, models, and strategies in dealing with other important aspects of risk management in preventive medicine.

 

We certainly hope that this conference will contribute towards a better understanding of risks management in workplaces and the environment, and that the concepts, models and strategies proposed and examined will go a long way towards improving the lives of current and future generations.

 

Thank you and see you in Kota Bharu.

 

 

Rusli B. Nordin

MBBS; MPH; PhD

Professor of Community Medicine, University of Science Malaysia

President, Second Asia Conference on Risk Management in Preventive Medicine

Vice-President, Union of Risk Management fro Preventive Medicine

Nov. 1, 2004

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear friends in the Asia Pacific region

 

Two years pass after the 1st Asia Pacific Congress in March, 2003, in Tokyo, Japan, chaired by Prof. and Dean, Rusli B. Nordin, jointly with the 1st World Congress of the Union of Risk Management for Preventive Medicine (URMPM), chaired by myself. In this period, over 300 experts from the Asia Pacific region registered in the URMPM.

And, a couple of serious damages happens in safety and health in the Asia Pacific region, for examples, SARS infection, Avian virus infection, the Indian Ocean tsunami, and heavy earthquakes at snowy mountain villages places in Japan. All of those could be preventative, and should be prevented. Those episodes teach the world to need better development of comprehensive and global risk management programs for prevention and crisis medical services. We greatly appreciate Prof. Nordinfs great efforts as Chairperson of the URMPM Asia Pacific Center to re-organizing the Asia Pacific Congress in Malaysia to develop social infrastructures of new networks in safety and health in medicine, safety and health information services, global safety education to reduce risky behaviors, international cooperation for challenges in a view point of safety, health and poor.  The conference outcomes in the beautiful and peaceful tropical country are obviously informative for development in safety and health in the other regions around the world than the Asia pacific region.

 

 

Best regards

Ryoji Sakai, Tokyo, Japan

Chairs, URMPM and WHRMC (World Health Risk management Center)

February 1, 2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

As one of vice-Presidents of the Union of Union for Risk Management of Preventive Medicine (URMPM) I would like to convey my greetings to all the participants. We live in a world which is in fear of natural disasters, terrorism and incurable illnesses. The need of a comprehensive national and international strategic plan is required more than ever before. The recent tsunami in South Asia is an example with loss of life about 200,000 in 10 different countries. The cost of those who survived but ended up with disabilities is immeasurable. It is an emergency that required a multinational and multisectorial approach. There is a need for strong leadership to tackle such large-scale problems in a very short time.

 

We live in a world that is changing dramatically on a daily basis. No one could predict the tsunami, and no one could the predict HIV/AIDS pandemic. There are enormous risks to the existence of human life, and what will next be, we do not know? There is only one answer to this question. Reduce the risk if one cannot eliminate totally. There is a forthcoming URMPM conference in Malaysia which will be a thought provoking, and probably will answer several questions regarding risks of 21st Century, and its management. Malaysia is a fascinating country famous for rubber, and coconuts. I advise all my colleague from Africa to attend this exciting meeting, and inspire to minimize the risks we all are facing in this century.

 

 

Professor BL MEEL

Vice-President, Union of Risk Management of preventive Medicine

University of Transkei

South Africa.

Feb. 12, 2005