The MENA-SINO (Middle East North Africa Stroke and Interventional Neurology Organization) Society was founded in 2015 with the goal of advancing the specialty of neuro-interventional surgery for stroke through research, standard-setting, education, and advocacy. It aims to provide the highest quality of patient care in diagnosing and treating diseases of the brain, spine, head and neck, and to educate younger neuro-interventionalists from this region on new modalities in the field.
Two years ago, during the COVID pandemic, MENO-SINO started a webinar series aimed at addressing issues pertaining to the pandemic itself. However, after the pandemic, it has evolved into a monthly webinar series on pertinent topics relating to stroke and neuro-intervention around the world. The webinar series features experts in the field and panelists from developing countries which allows for interesting discussions. The series provides ample time for discussion to help everyone understand the differences in treatment and care across a broad spectrum of resources and healthcare systems.Â
The first series began with pediatric neuro-intervention, a less discussed issue due to limited global experts. The program highlighted the acute stroke pathway in the pediatric population and demonstrated how to use the protocol in underdeveloped areas with few pediatric facilities.
The next series discussed advances in stroke treatment, including ischemic strokes, hemorrhagic strokes, and TIAs, with speakers from the USA, Europe, KSA, and the MENA region. The series also explored a variety of topics including stroke in pregnancy and broader discussions around women and stroke. The discussions were fruitful, generating new research topics and authentic data.
We have also hosted webinars on stroke rehabilitation in developing countries. This was an interesting panel discussion looking at European guidelines and under Professor Padma Sirivastava ,from India , ideas and insights into improving access to rehabilitation in developing countries.
Professors Majaz Moonis, Maher Saqqur, Ossama Mansour, and Dr Saima Ahmad are the webinar Committee Co-Chairs, and they have played an important role in establishing the framework of the webinars as well as being panelists in generating constructive and targeted conversations. We feel that integrating the expertise of Eastern and Western neuro-interventionalists is a novel notion that stems from the concept of worldwide access to treatment for all.
Our webinar library has all recorded webinars. The online educational webinars help to bridge the gap between the Eastern and Western parts of the world . The webinars hope to fulfill the following aims: knowledge exchange, access to expertise, capacity building, awareness of global health issues, cultural competence, research collaborations, professional networking, continuing medical education and innovation.
Overall, integrating faculty from developing and developed nations in medical webinars promotes collaboration, capacity building, and knowledge exchange. It empowers medical professionals to work together to address global health concerns and improve healthcare globally. We hope that you too can benefit from our webinar series,
About the Author:
 A special thank you to the Professors making the MENA-SINO webinar series a reality: | Dr. Saima Ahmad MBBS, DMRD, MSc, EDSI is Pakistan’s first female neuro-interventional radiologist who has graduated from Fatimah Jinnah Medical University. She started her efforts towards developing an acute stroke care program in 2019 and is recognized by many national and international stroke societies for her work. As a board member of the MENA-SINO Society and MT2020, she is actively engaged in research, and webinars and published over 50 publications. One of her biggest aspirations is to develop neuro-interventional facilities in low-resource settings and stroke programs in LMICs. |
 | Prof Majaz Moonis Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry Director Stroke Services at UMass Memorial Medical Center, Worcester, USA |
 | Prof Ossama Mansour Professor of Neurology, Director Stroke Services, Alexandria Egypt, President of MENA-SINO |
 | Prof Maher Saqqur Clinical Professor of Medicine and Neurology , Trillium Hospital, University of Toronto Canada. Department of Medicine, University of Alberta |