"The MENA Geriatric Summit 2017, was launched on Thursday by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) in partnership with the Swiss Business Council, Dubai & Northern Emirates. As the region\'s healthcare delivery improves, mortality numbers are dropping and there is an increasing ageing population that we as healthcare professionals must take care of. The conference aims to provide an intensive and comprehensive review of the most important changes in Elderly Healthcare and Geriatric medicine by bringing together specialists in the field to exchange ideas and knowledge between different disciplines. During his opening speech, His Excellency Humaid Al Qutami, Chairman of the Board and Director General of the DHA said the two-day summit strives to provide an interactive platform to discuss and highlight numerous health-related issues and challenges when it comes to the care and treatment of the elderly. “At the national level, estimates indicate an expected rise in the proportion of elderly in the UAE from 6 per cent to 29 per cent by 2050. These figures underline the urgent need for the development of elderly care system to include the health system and all related medical and social care services,” he added. The conference’s scientific program will showcase new developments and share international views on different topics in elderly care wich will cover Healthy Aging, Nutrition for the aging, Geronto-psychiatry, Sensory, Neuro disorders of aging, NCDs, Anti-aging medicine and Chronic disease to name a few. Peter Harradine, President Swiss Business Council Dubai & Northern Emirates said the Dubai Health Authority and the Swiss Business Council realizes that the world as a whole is facing difficulties in providing the correct care for older people. More than half the adults over the age of 65 have 3 or more medical problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, dermatology, osteoporosis, obesity, kidney disease, prostate enlargement, eye diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, or high blood pressure and that is just to name a few. He added that geriatrics has become an issue, which is why hosting such a conference that focuses on geriatric care is important. "