During the 60th General Conference, held from 26-30 September 2016, the IAEA and the Jaber Al Ahmad Center for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (JACNMMI) agreed on Practical Arrangements to cooperate in the field of nuclear medicine through the training of nuclear medicine physicians, technicians and radiopharmacists.
The Practical Arrangements were signed by Aldo Malavasi, Deputy-Director General of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications (NA) and Adnan Shihab-Eldin, Director-General of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences. It is the first arrangement of its kind in the field of nuclear medicine in Kuwait. The JACNMMI belongs to the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) and is operated jointly with the Kuwait Ministry of Health.
“Having the support of centres such as the JACNMMI is instrumental towards achieving the goal of the IAEA’s Division of Human Health to support Member States to tackle various health conditions by enhancing the practice of nuclear medicine,” said Diana Paez, Head of the IAEA Section of Nuclear Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging. “Special emphasis is placed on capacity building as a tool to achieve sustainable development in the field of diagnostic imaging.”
Naheel Alnafisi, Director General of JACNMMI said that signing this agreement represents the culmination of three years of cooperation between the Agency and the Center. “The Center has hosted many IAEA experts to study work protocols and assess radiation protection procedures as well as to oversee that applications are within International Standards to ensure quality of production of radioactive materials,” said Alnafisi. “Currently the Center is working closely with the IAEA to establish a credited training programme for clinical nuclear medicine and nuclear medicine sciences, which will have a great impact on the region.”
The non-exclusive cooperation agreement is focused on training of nuclear medicine physicians and technologists from IAEA Member States at the JACNMMI. Additionally the hosting of trainings for radiopharmacists and radiochemists on Positron Emission Tomography (PET) radiopharmaceutical production including Good Manufacturing Practices is pursued. The exchange of data of mutual interest and the dissemination of relevant research through scientific publications aims to further strengthen this collaboration.
