Note: This Privacy Policy explains how the Pakistan Urogynaecological Association (PUGA) collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you visit our website https://puga.org.pk or interact with our services.

1. Who We Are

The Pakistan Urogynaecological Association (PUGA) is a non-profit professional organization dedicated to advancing women’s health through education, research, and specialized care in urogynaecology. Our website address is: https://puga.org.pk

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Comments & Communications

When you leave comments, inquiries, or contact us through our website forms, we collect the information you provide (such as your name, email address, and message), along with your IP address and browser user agent string to help detect and prevent spam.

2.2 Membership Applications

If you apply for PUGA membership, we collect professional information including your medical qualifications, practice details, and contact information. This data is used solely for membership verification and association communications.

2.3 Conference Registrations

When registering for PUGA conferences or educational events, we collect participant details necessary for event management, certification, and communication. Payment information is processed through secure third-party gateways and is not stored on our servers.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Respond to your inquiries and provide requested services
• Process membership applications and maintain member directories
• Manage conference registrations and send event updates
• Share educational content, research updates, and association news
• Improve our website functionality and user experience
• Comply with legal and professional obligations

4. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience:

• Comment Cookies: If you leave a comment, you may opt-in to save your name and email for future comments. These cookies last for one year.
• Login Cookies: When you log in, cookies save your session and display preferences. Login cookies last for two days; screen options cookies last for one year.
• “Remember Me”: If selected, your login persists for two weeks.
• Editorial Cookies: If you edit content, a cookie saves the post ID for 1 day (contains no personal data).

You can configure your browser to refuse cookies, but some website features may not function properly.

5. Data Sharing & Third Parties

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information. We may share data only in the following circumstances:

• Service Providers: Trusted third parties who assist with website hosting, email delivery, or payment processing (under strict confidentiality agreements).
• Legal Requirements: When required by law, regulation, or legal process.
• Professional Collaboration: With affiliated medical associations for educational or research purposes (with your consent).

Gravatar: An anonymized hash of your email may be shared with the Gravatar service to display your profile picture. Gravatar’s privacy policy: automattic.com/privacy

6. Data Retention

Comments: Comments and metadata are retained indefinitely to enable automatic approval of follow-up comments.

Member Data: Personal information in member profiles is retained while your membership is active. You may request deletion or updates at any time.

Event Records: Conference registration data is retained for certification, accreditation, and historical records as required by professional standards.

7. Your Rights

If you have an account on our website or have submitted personal information, you have the right to:

• Request an exported file of your personal data
• Request correction or deletion of your personal data
• Opt-out of non-essential communications
• Withdraw consent for data processing (where applicable)

Note: We may retain certain data for administrative, legal, or security purposes as required by Pakistani law and medical professional regulations.

8. Media & Images

If you upload images to our website (e.g., for member profiles or event submissions), please ensure they do not contain embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors can download and extract such data from images on the site.

9. Embedded Content

Articles on our site may include embedded content from other websites (e.g., YouTube videos, Google Forms, social media posts). Such content behaves as if you visited the source website directly and may collect data, use cookies, or track interactions.

We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of third-party platforms before interacting with embedded content.

10. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no internet transmission is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last Updated” date. We encourage you to review this policy regularly.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us:

© 2026 Pakistan Urogynaecological Association (PUGA). All rights reserved.

This Privacy Policy is compliant with applicable Pakistani data protection guidelines and international best practices for medical associations.