Global recognition for WONCA Rural Health Conference highlights how local action can spark lasting international change in rural healthcare.
WONCA is proud to celebrate a major achievement for Rural WONCA and the global family medicine community. The WONCA World Rural Health Conference 2022, held in Limerick, has been awarded the Main Grant in the ICCA and BestCities Global Alliance Incredible Impacts Programme, recognising its outstanding contribution to rural health worldwide.
What is Incredible Impacts? The annual programme highlights international association meetings that go beyond the meeting to deliver lasting social change. Winners are recognised for measurable legacy and receive a US$20,000 grant to help extend that impact and inspire others to design purpose-led events.
A catalyst for global change
The Limerick conference was more than an event - it became a catalyst for national and international reform in rural health. As Professor Liam Glynn, Conference Ambassador and Professor of General Practice at the University of Limerick, put it: “Rural WONCA 2022 was more than a conference - it was a catalyst for sustainability in rural healthcare across Ireland and the world.”
The conference united family doctors, researchers and policymakers to address rural healthcare challenges and build a shared vision for equitable access. It was hosted by the University of Limerick, the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) and the Rural, Island and Dispensing Doctors of Ireland, in partnership with Fáilte Ireland and the Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau.
From grassroots action to global influence
After the financial crisis, rural communities in Ireland struggled to maintain access to care. In response, doctors launched the grassroots “No Doctor, No Village” movement, which helped bring rural healthcare to the political agenda. That momentum fed into the WONCA World Rural Health Conference in Limerick and directly informed the Limerick Declaration on Rural Healthcare - a policy blueprint for strengthening primary care in rural and remote areas. The declaration has since guided national strategies and contributed to international discussions, including within the World Health Organization.
Lasting legacy
The impact of the conference continues to grow, in Ireland and beyond:
- Creation of Ireland’s first National Standing Committee for Rural General Practice, established by the ICGP.
- Appointment of the country’s first Professor of Rural General Practice at the University of Limerick.
- Launch of a Rural GP Fellowship Programme, supported by Ireland’s Health Service Executive (HSE), the national public health service, to strengthen recruitment and retention in rural areas.
- Development of a Rural Teaching Hub at the University of Limerick, with students spending a significant share of clinical training in rural communities.
- Hosting of a WHO global meeting that informed a Rural Health Equity Toolkit to support countries starting or scaling rural practice.
- Involvement of students and early-career doctors through initiatives such as the Rural Seeds Network, helping to build the next generation of rural practitioners.
Photo: International delegates at the Rural WONCA conference in Limerick, Ireland 2022.
Watch the story
Watch how Limerick became an intellectual capital for rural health and how three connected meetings delivered change in policy, education and practice:
Credit: The Iceberg.
Looking ahead
The next World Rural Health Conference will take place in Aotearoa New Zealand, 10 - 13 April 2026, with a focus on Indigenous health: “Whānau Ora: Integrating Mātauranga Māori, Indigenous knowledge with rural health for a thriving future.” Learn more at ruralwonca2026.com.