WONCA Awards Ceremony 2025

Conference News and Reports Feature Stories

September, 2025

WONCA 2025 Awards Ceremony

WONCA 2025 Awards

The WONCA World Conference in Lisbon included a special Awards & Inauguration Ceremony celebrating global excellence in family medicine. Below are the awards and honorees recognised in 2025.

Five Star Doctor Awards

The Five Star Doctor Award recognises family physicians who excel in five key roles: care provider, decision-maker, communicator, community leader, and manager.

2025 Regional Winners

Dr Ming-Nan Lin (Asia Pacific)
Dr Fatemeh Najafipour (Eastern Mediterranean)
Prof Louis Jenkins (Africa)
Dr Kim Yu (North America)
Dr Jana Bendová and Prof Péter Torzsa (Europe)
Dr Preethi Wijegoonewardene (South Asia)

2024 Regional Winners

Dr Dan Abubakar Momodu (Africa)
Dr Karin Estepa-Garcia (Asia Pacific)
Dr Maisa Al-Kiyumi (Eastern Mediterranean)
Dr Nato Shengelia (Europe)
Dr Maria Inez Padula Anderson (Iberoamericana-CIMF)
Dr Aldyth Buckland (North America)
Dr Sanath Hettige (South Asia)

Global Five Star Doctor Award

Selected from the regional winners, the 2025 Global Five Star Doctor Award was presented to:

Dr Maria Inez Padula Anderson

Rising Star Award

This award recognises an early-career family doctor whose leadership, energy, and innovation show great promise for the future of family medicine. The 2025 awardee was:

Dr Maira Alejandra León Solarte

Montegut Global Scholars

The Montegut Global Scholars Program is supported by the American Board of Family Medicine Foundation. It helps family doctors from each WONCA region attend the World Conference and grow as leaders in primary care. The 2025 awards were presented by Prof. Andrew Bazemore on behalf of the ABFM Foundation.

Sasha Farrier
Sidika Ece Yokus
Samar Al-Moazen
Jake Bryan Cortez
Liliana Villegas Valdomero
Sankha Randenikumara
Tania Gahama Ineza

Donald Li YDM Global Scholarship

Named in honour of WONCA Past President Dr Donald Li, this scholarship recognises young family doctors who show strong leadership and commitment to global primary care. The 2025 awards were presented by another WONCA Past President, Dr Anna Stavdal.

Dr Beesan Maraqa
Dr Stephen T. Engmann
Dr Michael Angelo J. Arteza

Atai Omorutu Scholarship Award

Named after the late Dr Anne Deborah Atai Omorutu of Uganda, this award supports early-career African women doctors who face economic and resource barriers. It was presented by the WONCA Working Party on Women in Family Medicine.

Dr Adedotun Oluwaseun Ajelabi
Dr Lydia Wangui Ngigi

Taiwan Family Medicine Research Award (TFMRA)

Established by the Taiwan Association of Family Medicine (CTAFM), the TFMRA supports junior family physicians conducting research in family medicine. The 2025 awards were presented in Lisbon by Prof. Shao-Yi Cheng.

Ozan Emre Eliacik (Turkey)
Lytzalaura Chavez Quezada (México)
Nur Aliah Binti Zulkeflee (Malaysia)

Fellowship of WONCA

The Fellowship of WONCA is our organisation’s highest honour, awarded to individuals who have made an exceptional and lasting contribution to global family medicine.

Dan Abubakar (Nigeria)
Faisal Abdullatif Alnaser (Bahrain)
Jane Namatovu (Uganda)
Victor Ng (Canada)
Anna Stavdal (Norway)
Bruce Chater (Australia)
Adam Windak (Poland)
Evelyn van Weel (Netherlands)
Marina Almenas (Puerto Rico)
Shlomo Vinker (Israel)

See the full list of WONCA Fellows

Honorary Life Direct Individual Members

This award is given to individuals who have made a lasting contribution to WONCA and global family medicine. It includes Past Presidents of WONCA and other long-serving contributors to our global community.