APSENA 2009 Annual Conference to Focus on Water, Energy, and Health
Champaign , IL:The 26th annual conference of The Association of Pakistani Scientists and Engineers in North America (APSENA) will be held on October 17th-18th, 2009 at the I-Hotel and Conference Center at the campus of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
since its inception in 1983 APSENA has worked for developing intellectual, scientific, and academic linkages between Pakistan and the US. The up-coming conference will focus on issues of critical relevance to Pakistan in particular and the world in general, as it is themed: Water: Lifeline for Energy and Health.
Water scarcity has now emerged as a major source of destabilization in the international system with manifold ramifications. Pakistan has been gravely affected by the shortage of water. Large segments of population in the country lack access to clean drinking water. “Lack of clean drinking water has caused the spread of numerous diseases such as hepatitis, typhoid, cholera, polio, diarrhea, and parasitic infections,” said Dr. Atifa Shuaib, associate professor of pathology at the Rawalpindi Medical College, and a physician at the Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, who is one of the invited speakers at APSENA 2009 conference. Besides, water scarcity has resulted in shortfall of approximately 3500 megawatt of electricity in the country. Developing consensus between different provinces of Pakistan over the allocation and distribution of water resources has been a cause for friction posing a major challenge to the federation of Pakistan. Similarl,y some of the key disputes between India and Pakistan are linked to their contentious claims about sharing of water in the Indo-Pak sub-continent.
“Since its inception APSENA has attempted to provide a platform for intellectual exchange and develop societal linkages between Pakistan and the USA”, said APSENA President Dr. Nusrat Naqvi, a professor of biology at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She stateded, “APSENA's 26th annual conference aims to discuss the various issues at scientific, entrepreneurial, and policy-making levels.” For further information visit: www.apsena.net
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
