WONCA President Dr Viviana Martínez-Bianchi will represent family doctors worldwide at the inaugural meeting of the
Global Commission for 21st Century Healthcare (GC21CH), a virtual side event of the
WSIS+20 UN General Assembly High-level Meeting.
GC21CH brings together senior leaders from family medicine, nursing, pharmacy, digital health, economics, informatics and public health
to consider how health systems can become more equitable, proactive, digitally enabled and people centred. WONCA’s participation ensures
that the experience of family doctors and primary care teams is part of this global discussion on the future of healthcare.
What is WSIS+20?
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is a long-standing United Nations process on digital governance and
cooperation. It focuses on building people centred, inclusive and development oriented information and knowledge societies. The
WSIS+20 Forum High-level Event marks twenty years of this work and brings together governments, UN agencies, civil
society, the private sector and professional organisations to discuss the role of digital technologies in sustainable development.
GC21CH is organised as an official WSIS+20 side event, linking debates on digital transformation with the concrete
realities of health systems and patient care.
Event details
- Event: Global Commission for 21st Century Healthcare - Inaugural Global Meeting
- Occasion: WSIS+20 UN General Assembly High-level Meeting side event
- Date: Monday, 15 December 2025
- Time: 8:30 - 10:30 (New York time) / 13:30 - 15:30 (UTC)
- Format: Virtual
WONCA’s role
Dr Martínez-Bianchi will serve as a Commissioner and speak in her capacity as President of the
World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA). She will highlight how strong, continuous primary care is essential to
any health system that aims to be effective, sustainable and fair, and how digital and other innovations should support person centred
care rather than increase fragmentation.
For WONCA, joining this Commission is part of our broader work to represent family doctors in key global processes and to ensure that
primary care is recognised as the foundation of health systems.
Participating global leaders
The Commission includes leaders from international organisations, academia and professional bodies, including:
- Dr Rajendra Pratap Gupta, Chairman, Health Parliament
- Prof (Dr) Thomas Zeltner, Co-chair, Global Commission for 21st Century Healthcare; Chairman, WHO Foundation
- Dr Alain Labrique, Director, Department of Digital Health and Innovation, World Health Organization
- Mr Paul Sinclair AM, President, International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)
- Dr Joseph C. Kvedar, Professor, Harvard Medical School
- Dr Lars Lindsköld, President, European Federation for Medical Informatics (EFMI); Board Member, SFMI
- Ms Francesca Colombo, Head, Health Division, Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD
- Dr K. Srinath Reddy, Founding President, Public Health Foundation of India
- Dr José Luis Cobos-Serrano, President, International Council of Nurses
- Dr Viviana Martínez-Bianchi, President, World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA)
- Dr Clarice D. Aiello, Founder, Quantum Biology Ecosystem; CSO, Quantum Biology Institute
- Dr Dean Ho, Director, Institute for Digital Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS)
About the Global Commission and Health Parliament
The Global Commission for 21st Century Healthcare will review how healthcare has evolved into a multi trillion dollar global
system, and why many people still lack basic services, live longer but with more chronic disease, and face barriers to coordinated care.
It will explore what a future ready health system should look like, including:
- Accessible, community based services with strong primary care
- Digital tools that support clinical decisions, continuity and equity
- Teams that work across professions and sectors
- Investment that is aligned with quality, trust and measurable outcomes
The Commission is convened by Health Parliament, an international health policy think tank that works with governments,
multilateral organisations and professional bodies. Health Parliament focuses on evidence based analysis, leadership development and
practical policy recommendations to support health system improvement.
How to take part
The inaugural meeting is open to colleagues who are interested in the future of health systems, digital health and primary care.
Stay connected with WONCA
WONCA will share updates on this Commission and on our wider advocacy for family medicine and primary care. To follow our work: