The idea of having the First Pan Arab Congress on Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, and to invite the Arab Anaesthesiologists to meet and exchange their experience together in the field of anaesthesia and intensive care, emerged in Amman 1984 during the preparation of the 1st Pan Arab Congress on Anaesthesia and Intensive Care. The organizing committee of this congress started to invite two from each anaesthesia society in the Arab World (the president and secretary general). Those who responded to the invitation gathered in Amman – Jordan. They welcomed this initiative that came from Amman, the capital of Jordan, a small country in the heart of the Arab World. They worked very hard to help the Jordanian fellows in the organization of such a congress to be held in 1985. Prof Helmi Hijazi was the president of this congress and Dr. Jamal Shanableh was the secretary.
This idea attracted a lot of pharmaceutical companies, local and abroad. They showed great enthusiasm in sponsoring such a meeting. Upjohn and La Roche were the major sponsors.
The name of this pan-Arab organizing committee was “The Pan-Arab Scientific Committee”. It was formed from:
“ Prof Hilmi Hijazi, Prof Anis Baraka, Prof Moh’d H. Shaker, Prof Salah Al-Halabi, Prof Burhan Al-Abed, Prof Taha Al-Jasser, Prof Bassam Barazenji, Prof Izdiad Badran, Prof Moh’d S. Takrouri, Prof Moh’d A. Seraj, Prof Moh’d Thaheri, Prof Kamal Al-Hassan, Prof Al-Fedel Moh’d, Dr. Jamal Shanableh, Dr. Fayez Nemri, Dr. Majed Haddadin, Dr. Mahmoud Keilani, Dr. Khairi Najib, Dr. Moh’d Mutawe’a, Dr. Thafer Al-Khudairi.”
The World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists was contacted. Dr. Zorab, the secretary of the World Federation at that time suggested that a committee is not proper name to represent this gathering, since a committee is a branch of something bigger, and he suggested the terminology of “Academy, College or Federation”. So the name of this Pan-Arab Scientific Committee changed into the Federation of Arab Societies of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, and joined the World Federation in this name in 1990.
The work started for formulating Bylaws that would translate this effort and fulfill the ambitions of all the Arab colleagues. They suggested to have routine pan-Arab congresses every two years, and Egypt was chosen to host the second Pan Arab Congress in December 1987 where Prof Salah Al-Halabi was the president and Prof Mohammed Shaker the secretary. During the 2nd Pan Arab Congress in Cairo, Prof Atef Mandour, Prof Abdel-Razzak Yousef were added to the Pan Arab Scientific Committee.
During the attendance of the World Federation Congress that was held in Austria, a meeting for the Pan Arab Scientific Committee was held in Bristol Hotel in Vienna in 8 / 9 / 1986, with some of the officers of the World Federation: Dr. Carlos Parslo, Dr. Richard Ament, Prof John S.M. Zorab and Prof M.D. Vickers. In that meeting they studied some subjects as having the Pan Arab Scientific Committee as a nucleus for the future Pan Arab Federation, and how it should be admitted to the World Federation. Also the participation of the World Federation in the activity of the 2nds Pan Arab Congress in Cairo in 1987 and the possibility of have a World Congress in Anaesthesia in one of the Arab capitals. Another meeting was held in the gardens of Hofborg Palace - Vienna to study the results of the meeting with the officers of the World Federation.
The 3rd Pan Arab Congress was held in Tunis in 1989, where Prof Mohammed Al-Thahery was the president and Prof Abdel-Majid Dawood as secretary. During that congress extensive meetings were conducted to study the suggested bylaws for this federation from all the Arab colleagues and agreed on a final issue based on the Jordanian paper. The federation was officially declared during this congress (1989) under the umbrella of the Medical Arab Union, and the World Federation was notified. The Pan-Arab Scientific Committee in the bylaws has changed to the “Consultative Committee of the Federation”. Prof Hilmi Hijazi was declared as the first president of the Arab Federation of the Societies of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care.
Another meeting for the Consultative Committee was held in Sheraton Hotel – Doha (Qatar) during the attendance of the 1st Gulf Conference in November 1991, where an extensive study was done for the formation of the Arab Board in Anaesthesia, where Prof Moh’d A. Seraj was assigned to head the committee for the negotiation with the General Arab Board for medical specialties.
The 4th Pan Arab Congress was given to Iraq in 1991, but due to the first Gulf War it was cancelled and was given to Syria, where it was held in Damascus - Syria in 1993 under the presidency of Prof Burhan Al-Abed.
A meeting for the consultative committee was also held during the International Congress of Anaesthesia in Muscat-Sultanate of Oman in April 1996, and another one in Tunis during the 1st Pan Arab Congress on Disaster Medicine in November 1996.
The 5th Pan Arab Congress was assigned for Morocco, but unfortunately it was cancelled due to financial problems. So Egypt took the task of having it in Cairo in December 1997.
The 6th Pan Arab Congress was held in Abu Dhabie in the United Arab Emirates in January 2000. Another meeting for the federation was held in Aleppo in October 2000 during the Annual meeting of the Syrian Society of Anaesthesia.
The 7th was assigned for Algeria in October 2001, but due to security matters it has been cancelled, and on the request of Prof Drif the name (7th) has been kept to Algeria since it held the name of the late Prof Moh’d H. Shaker.
The 8th Pan Arab Congress was held in Beirut in 2004. During this congress the consultative committee held many sessions to discuss proposals to update the Bylaws of the federation and Prof Marie Antakly was declared as the president of the federation. Other meetings were held in Luxor - Egypt in March 2004 and in Tunis in May 2005 to activate the new bylaws. Further meetings were proposed in November 2005 during the anaesthesia conference of the Lebanese Society of Anaesthesia or in Egypt early in 2006.
Our federation is trying always to update itself to adapt with the world progress in anaesthesia and to have fresh blood to keep the momentum of having an Arab federation that gathers all Arab Anaesthesiologists to join together and unite to push the specialty ahead.