Monday 11 Jan. 2021

The Supreme Committee supervises the conference met in the presence of the President of the University, Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Hassan Al-Ghabban, and the Organizing Committee headed by Prof. Dr. Abdul Hameed Al-Obaidi and the respected heads of the Scientific committees headed by Prof. Dr. Shaker Ahmed Saleh and in the presence of members of these committees from different universities, departments and governors On Monday, 11/1/2021 at the Environment Research Center / University of Technology while adhering to the directives of the Crisis Cell in maintaining social distancing and wearing masks. Preparations for the Fifth International Scientific Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development 5ISCESD 2021 were discussed at its scheduled date on March 11-13. 2021 in Istanbul-Turkey. Important points were discussed that ensure the proper functioning of the work and remove obstacles for participants in general and graduate students in particular, and the meeting resulted in a set of directives and recommendations for the success of this scientific edifice.

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On behalf of the president of University of Technology-UOT (Prof. Dr. Ahmed Al-Gaban) and the direct supervision by Prof. Dr. Abdullhamed Al-Obaidy who is the director of Environment Research Center (ERC)-UOT

The ERC held in cooperation with the Nutrition Research Institute-Public Health Directorate-Ministry of Health and Environment a scientific symposium online using the ZOOM platform entitled (Addressing the Challenges of Hidden Hunger) on 22/9/2020 at 9.00 p.m. This symposium was electronically managed by Dr. Mukheled A. Hussien (head of scientific activity committee at ERC) as a coordinator with the assistance of Mrs. Zahraa Z. Farhan (lecturer at ERC).

The first lecturer, Dr. Mohammed Jasim Ahmed (FICMS/CM, Nutrition Research Institute) gave a lecture within the first part of this symposium under the title “Health Food Strategy in Iraq”. The lecturer showed the importance of the plan "National Nutrition Strategy" prepared by the Ministry of Health and Environment in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund from 2012 to 2021. This plan aimed to develop a sound basis in terms of planning, organizing and managing the public sectors related to nutrition, ensuring the improvement of health and nutritional status of the Iraqi individual. The lecturer discussed the nutritional indicators in almost Iraqi governorates and addressed malnutrition diseases for children under the age of 5 years in conjunction of disease of Anemia (deficiency in the iron element), vitamins and others. For dealing with these cases, a practical program was adopted in fortifying basic foodstuffs such as wheat flour using premix to increase the proportion of iron and salt iodization. In addition, many programs have been adopted to support food for school students and spread health awareness in these schools in particular and society in general. The lecturer recommended the necessity of scientific and research cooperation between academic institutions such as universities and research centers and the directories of Ministry of Health and Environment in order to develop methods of fortifying food with the necessary elements to prevent the occurrence of diseases harmful to public health.

While the second lecturer Assist. Prof. Basim H. Faraj (lecturer in the Department of Sustainable Development-ERC) gave a lecture within the second part under the title "Biofortification for Sustainable Diet". The lecturer stated that the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has defined a sustainable food system as a system that provides healthy food containing micro-elements (micronutrients) of vitamins and minerals (which are essential components of a high-quality diet) to meet current nutritional needs in conjunction with keeping healthy ecosystems that can provide food for the next generations at the minimal negative impact on the environment. These micronutrients are the essential components that can directly affect human health where their lack at the minimum level can cause what is called “Hidden Hunger”. For example, zinc element plays a vital role in participating in a wide range of biological activities of cells, and thus its decrease negatively affects the performance of these cells. To achieve a sustainable food strategy, the biofortification plays a fundamental role in enriching economic plants with micro-nutrients or vitamins that are unable to produce them at all or produce them in limited quantities. In order to alleviate hidden hunger, the traditional method of enriching crops with micro-elements such as foliage spraying or through soil additions or added with irrigation water. However, some strategic crops for physiological or anatomical reasons and others cannot absorb micronutrients and then they transfer them in the plant, so it is possible to apply a method in terms of genetic foundations without changing the genetic material such as selection and hybrid. Also, in some cases, these methods do not work because they require to transfer genes related to the absorption of elements or the manufacture of some biological compounds between individuals who are genetically distant organisms, and thus genetic engineering technology can be used.

The lecturer recommended at the end of his lecture that it is necessary to determine the needs of the Iraqi individual based on surveys by the Ministry of Health and Environment and then going towards research programs for the treatment in terms of the adoption of a national program. This program can be participated by the relevant specialized sectors in cooperation with the Nutrition Research Institute.

Finally, the participants were allowed to discuss, express opinions and dialogue with the lecturers, which finally led to establish a set of recommendations. These recommendations will be actively considered and announced later.

In conclusion, the Director of ERC expressed his sincere gratitude to both lecturers and all participants for attending in this symposium

On behalf of the president of University of Technology-UOT (Prof. Dr. Ahmed Al-Gaban) and the direct supervision by Prof. Dr. Abdullhamed Al-Obaidy who is the director of Environmental Research Center (ERC)-UOT, the ERC held in cooperation with the Nutrition Research Institute-Public Health Directorate-Ministry of Health and Environment a scientific symposium online using the ZOOM platform entitled (Coronavirus Disease and Enhancing Immunity for Health Sustainability) on 19/6/2020 at 9.00 p.m. This symposium was electronically managed by Dr. Mukheled Hussien (head of scientific activity committee-ERC) as a coordinator with the assistance of Dr. Muhammed Taha and Mrs. Zahraa Farhan (lecturers-ERC).

An inaugural talk was started by the President of UOT who stated the importance of carrying out this symposium at the current circumstances in terms of Coronavirus pandemic, which represents a major challenge at the global and regional levels. Then, the second talk was started by the vice chancellor for scientific and postgraduate affairs (Prof. Dr. Alaa Abdulhasan) who stated the important role for cooperation between official institutions in spreading health and environmental awareness to protection of the Iraqi citizen as an intended target.

After that the first lecturer, Dr. Abdul-Hameed Salim Barrak (M.B.Ch.B, Nutrition Research Institute) gave a lecture within the first part of this symposium under the title "What is Corona’s Disease".

The lecturer clarified the nature and characteristics of coronavirus, methods of infection, the epidemiological map of this disease, the reasons for the continuous increase in the rates of infection for all Iraqi governorates and the efforts of the Ministry of Health and Environment at the current time. Also, he showed the efforts and recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the scientific efforts by all countries in the world to manufacture a successful vaccine against this virus. At the end of lecture, he pointed out that there has not been yet any vaccine that has proven its effectiveness against this virus in practical application. Therefore, the most effective solution to deal with it is to follow preventive measures to prevent infection and its spread. Finally, he recommended that the necessity of scientific cooperation between the different countries of the world and consolidating the efforts and solid scientific research in finding an effective vaccine in the future.

While the second lecturer Assist. Prof. Basim H. Faraj (lecturer in the Department of Sustainable Development-ERC) gave a lecture within the second part under the title "Covid 19 and Enhancing the Immune System". He discussed the importance of enhancing immune methods naturally, and thus playing a positive constructive role in the face of Coronavirus. He clarified that healthy nutrition depending on specific types of food and following a healthy lifestyle play a vital role in enhancing the natural immunity of human.

After the end of lectures, the President of UOT acknowledged clearly the efforts made in organizing and managing this symposium by the ERC, the scientific content of these lectures and lecturers. After that, the vice chancellor for scientific and postgraduate affairs expressed his admiration for the scientific content of this symposium in terms of significant information presented by the lecturers and also acknowledged the academic staff of the ERC in organizing this event.

Finally, the participants from inside and outside Iraq were allowed to discuss, express opinions and dialogue with the lecturers, which finally led to establish a set of recommendations. These recommendations will be actively considered and announced later.

In conclusion, the Director of ERC expressed his sincere gratitude to the President of UOT, the vice chancellor for scientific and postgraduate affairs and all participants for attending in this symposium.

On behalf of the president of University of Technology-UOT (Prof. Dr. Ahmed Al-Gaban) and the direct supervision by Prof. Dr. Abdullhamed Al-Obaidy who is the director of Environmental Research Center (ERC), the department of environmental technology at ERC organized an international scientific symposium online using the ZOOM platform entitled (Environmental Changes After COVID-19) on 18/5/2020 at 4.00 p.m. This symposium was established by the organizing committee that included: Assist. Prof. Dr. Saleh Al-Bakery (head), Assist. Prof. Dr. Saher Amen (member), Mr. Emad Al-Deen Hateem (member) and Dr. Muhammed Taha (organizer). This symposium was electronically managed by Dr. Mukheled Hussien (head of scientific activity committee at ERC) as a coordinator with the assistance of Mrs. Zahraa Farhan (lecturer at ERC).

This symposium was held under the current circumstances of coronavirus pandemic, which is a major challenge at the levels of global and regional. In terms of the local level, the environmental changes after the impact of this pandemic was focused and covered for this purpose with three essential parts of this symposium, including environmental management, environmental pollution and ecosystem. The first lecturer (Prof. Dr. Ziyad Al-dhanki-lecturer in the department of animal production-college of agriculture-University of Al-Anbar-Iraq) gave a lecture within the first part entitled "Environmental Effects of the Poultry Industry" in which he addressed the impact of this industry on the environment and how it is managed and its relationship to the coronavirus pandemic at the current time. While the second lecturer (Dr. Hazem Abedalhammed- lecturer in the department of animal production-college of agriculture-University of Al-Anbar-Iraq) gave a lecture within the second part entitled "Pollution of High Euphrates Water: Reasons and Solutions" where he addressed the effect of water pollution on fish wealth and the consequences of coronavirus pandemic. Finally, Mrs. Amira Shaari (Master of Science in Biology-Malaysia) gave a lecture within the last part entitled "Lockdown and Its Impact on Air Quality During Pandemic Covid-19” in which she discussed the impact of lockdown in the period of coronavirus pandemic on the natural balance of the ecosystem.

After finishing the lectures, the participants were allowed to discuss, express opinions and dialogue with the lecturers, which finally led to establish a set of recommendations. These recommendations will be actively considered and announced later by the organizing committee of this symposium in order to improve the real situation of Iraqi environment.