15 WORLD GASTROENTEROLOGY NEWS FEBRUARY 2017 Editorial | Expert Point of View | Gastro 2016: EGHS-WGO | WDHD News | WGO & WGOF News | WGO Global Guidelines | Calendar of Events on the audience and created much interaction and interest The second event was with the members of the Jordanian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology for establishing a national protocol for prevalence, diagnosis and treatment of IBS. It was planned to implement a nationwide algorithm for diagnosis of IBS based on the latest interna-tional consensus and agreements to be endorsed and published by the Jordanian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The third activity was a campaign in collaboration with the media, using the national and private television and radio stations explaining to the public the issue of irritable bowel syndrome and the methods that can remediate them. The media event was interactive and had a notable success. The issue of irritable bowel syn-drome in Jordan is underestimated and treated with negligence since it does not constitute a life-threatening condition. The majority of Jor-danian physicians neglect it and prescribe symptom relief drugs only, although the patient’s life quality is impaired. Those conclusions were taken seriously by the members of the Jordanian Society and an agreement was formulated to continue media campaigns and lectures. A special mention must be given to the Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Jordan. There are over 1.4 million Syr-ians who have entered Jordan over the past 4 years with approximately 80% of those refugees currently living in urban areas outside camps. Also there are more than 400,000 Iraqi refugees residing in Amman. Their situation is still obscure although in a report that was published in 2015 the prevalence of IBS was around 2.7% for Syrian refugees while in Iraqi refugees it was 1.3%.7 The Jordanian Society agreed on a national plan to perform a nationwide statistical analytical study regarding the prevalence of the syndrome to have more representative data. This study will commence at the begin-ning of 2017 in association with the Jordanian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and sponsored by pharmaceutical companies. References: 1. Hungin, A., Whorwell, P., Tack, J., Mearin, F. The prevalence, pat-terns and impact of irritable bowel syndrome: an international survey of 40,000 subjects. Aliment Phar-macol Ther. 2003;17:643–650. 2. Chang, F., Lu, C. Irritable bowel syndrome in the 21st century: perspectives from Asia or South-east Asia. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2007;22:4–12. 3. US Census Bureau, International Data Base, 2004. 4. Kassab Harfoushi Pak J Med Sci. WOMEN WITH IRRI-TABLE BOWEL SYNDROME ACCORDING TO ROME II CRITERIA IN JORDAN; Janu-ary - March 2008 Vol. 24 No. 1 136-141. 5. Khaled Jadalla et al. Celiac disease in patients with presumed irritable bowel syndrome: A case- nd-ing study;World J Gastroenterol November 14, 2009 Volume 15 Number 42. 6. Eyad Al Tamimi et al. Abdominal Pain-Predominant Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders in Jor-danian School Children ;Gastro-enterol Res. 2014;7(5-6):137-142. 7. International Medical Corps – IMC. Healthcare assessment of Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Jordan; Ipsos 2015. Attendees at the WDHD event in Jordan
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