The ISSM is pleased to announce that the Middle East Society for Sexual Medicine (MESSM) has become an affiliated society on January 1, 2012.
The MESSM application for affiliation was approved at the September meeting of the ISSM Board of Directors.
The MESSM was originally established as a nonprofit organization in August 2010. Almost 200 sexual medicine specialists attended its first biennial meeting in Dubai, UAE in March 2011. At that time, its bylaws were approved and its Board of Directors was elected.
According to its website, the MESSM states the following as its aims:
- encourage the highest standards of practice, education and research in the field of human sexuality;
- to develop scientific methods for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of conditions affecting human sexual function; and
- to promote the publication of medical and scientific literature in the field of sexual function.
To follow through on these aims, the MESSM has set up the following committees:
- Communication Committee
- Development Committee
- Financial Committee
- Prize Committee
- Public Awareness Committee
- Scholarships and Rewards Committee
- Scientific Committee
Since the meeting in Dubai, the MESSM has planned a number of events, including the “Highlights on Sexual Medicine Symposium” series. At these meetings, sexual medicine specialists, including urologists, gynecologists, andrologists, psychologists and others, will learn more about the fundamentals of sexual medicine. Special emphasis will be placed on sexual issues common to the Middle East. The first symposium was held in Kuwait in October.
The next symposium will be held on January 20, 2012 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Topics will include unconsummated marriage, male and female sexual dysfunction, myths and misconceptions about sexual medicine, and the importance of sexual health for general health. Another symposium covering the same topics will be held in Cairo, Egypt in February.
The MESSM is planning its second biennial meeting for September 19-21, 2013 in Beirut, Lebanon.
For more information about the MESSM, please visit its website at www.messm.org. E-mail inquiries may be sent to office@messm.org. Prospective members may choose to join both the MESSM and the ISSM in a dual-membership option.
Resources
The Middle East Society for Sexual Medicine
“About MESSM Membership”
“History and Aims”
“MESSM Committees”
“Symposium – Highlights on Sexual Medicine in the Middle East”