Filipino nurses based in the United Arab Emirates are set to step into prominent roles when one of the continent’s foremost gatherings of urologic specialists convenes in the Philippine capital this September.
The 23rd Urological Association of Asia (UAA) Congress runs from September 3 to 6, 2026, in Manila, held alongside the 69th annual convention of the Philippine Urological Association. The event draws surgeons, nurses, researchers, and clinical specialists from across Asia and beyond for several days of scientific exchange centered on the newest developments in urologic care.
Among those representing the UAE delegation is Abigail Rome Cole, a Senior Royal VIP Endo-Urology Nurse who serves as the UAA’s Nursing Ambassador for the Emirates. According to Cole, the Filipino contingent will appear not only as participants but as international speakers and delegate leaders, a distinction she frames as recognition of the role Filipino nurses play in healthcare systems worldwide.
That group includes Marcerey Quejada, a Clinical Resource Nurse joining as a Fellow International Speaker; Norodom Guab Oidem, RN, MAN, a Senior Perioperative Nurse attending as a Fellow Delegate Leader; and Mariezl Fonbuena, a Clinical Research Charge Nurse taking part as a Fellow International Research Leader. Cole said the delegation intends to position Filipino nursing leadership at the forefront of the proceedings.
The congress faculty features Dr. Yasser Farahat, a UAE-based urologist whose standing in the field spans multiple continents. He currently holds the position of President-Elect of the Société Internationale d’Urologie, a role confirmed by the SIU’s own governance listing. He is also the Immediate Past President of the UAA and Executive Director of the Arab Association of Urology, and over his career has authored more than 35 publications and presented at scores of international conferences.
Organizers have built the Manila program around scientific learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and professional networking, with sessions designed to let attendees engage directly with specialists shaping where the discipline is headed. One anchor of that program is a nursing-focused gathering: with the backing of Dr. Samuel Yrastorza, Organizing Chair of UAA 2026, and Dr. Nerissa M. Gerial, AUNA Chairwoman and Founder-President of URONAP, the Asian Urological Nursing Association (AUNA) Nursing Program and the Urologic Nurses Association of the Philippines, Inc. (URONAP) will stage their first joint convention on Saturday, September 5, 2026, at Function Rooms 2F11 and 2F12 of the Manila Marriott Hotel. Invitations to the wider congress have been extended broadly — to clinicians, nursing leaders, educators, researchers, and students alike.
Organizers have built the Manila program around scientific learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and professional networking, with sessions designed to let attendees engage directly with specialists shaping where the discipline is headed. Invitations have been extended broadly — to clinicians, nursing leaders, educators, researchers, and students alike.
