Discover the 2025 Regional Five Star Doctors

Announcing the 2025 Regional Five Star Doctor Award Winners

WONCA is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Regional Five Star Doctor Awards. This prestigious honour recognises outstanding family doctors from each of WONCA’s seven regions for their excellence across five key roles in healthcare: Care Provider, Decision Maker, Communicator, Community Leader, and Manager.

The concept of the “Five Star Doctor” was first coined by Dr Charles Boelen during his time at the World Health Organization, and the award is now judged by WONCA using these five criteria to reflect the comprehensive, community-oriented role of the modern family physician.

Each regional winner has been nominated by their peers for their leadership, commitment, and contribution to improving health systems and patient care. They now go forward for consideration for the global Five Star Doctor Award, which will be presented at the WONCA World Conference in Lisbon this September.

Africa Region: Professor Louis Jenkins

WONCA is proud to recognise Professor Louis Jenkins as the 2025 Five Star Doctor Award recipient for the Africa Region. Based at George Hospital in South Africa’s Western Cape, Prof Jenkins has spent over two decades strengthening rural health systems and shaping the future of family medicine education.

As Clinical Head of Family and Emergency Medicine since 2002, Jenkins oversees in-patient, emergency, and outpatient services while leading outreach to 10 rural hospitals. His clinical practice is deeply rooted in person-centred care and long-standing relationships with patients, including home-based palliative care and support for survivors of gender-based violence.

A leader in medical education, Jenkins has championed the implementation of workplace-based assessment and e-portfolios in South Africa’s family medicine training, creating tools now used across all nine national programmes. He supervises research, mentors junior doctors, and contributes to international networks including PRIMAFAMED.

Colleagues describe him as a calm and trusted communicator, known for his ability to mediate between teams and support families through difficult decisions. His leadership extends to antibiotic stewardship, rural emergency care, and healthcare ethics.

“There are many exceptional doctors caring for communities and working very hard in Africa,” he reflected. “I don’t know how one can single out one colleague. None of us can work properly without a whole team of colleagues carrying one another.” Read more in his interview with Stellenbosch University.

Asia Pacific Region: Dr Ming-Nan Lin

Dr Ming-Nan Lin of Taiwan is the recipient of the 2025 WONCA Five Star Doctor Award for the Asia Pacific Region. A family physician, educator, and environmental health leader, Dr Lin exemplifies the integration of compassionate patient care with forward-thinking leadership in planetary health and medical education.

As Vice Superintendent of Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital and Director of its Family and Community Medicine Department, Dr Lin has advanced primary care models that are deeply rooted in continuity, prevention, and community outreach. He pioneered home-based care for immobile and elderly patients in rural Taiwan, and has expanded health access through free clinics, cancer screening drives, and post-disaster medical relief in countries including Nepal and the Philippines.

Dr Lin is also a recognised leader in sustainable healthcare. He was among the first in Taiwan to embed environmental practices in hospital administration – eliminating single-use plastics, reducing energy use, and spearheading the country’s Green Hospital Initiative. Under his leadership, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital became the first hospital in Asia to join the UN Race to Zero campaign, committing to net-zero emissions by 2050.

In parallel, he has shaped national medical training through his work in competency-based education and digital accreditation systems, while inspiring the next generation of family doctors through his teaching at Tzu Chi University. His advocacy for plant-based nutrition, lifestyle medicine, and environmental sustainability has influenced both policy and practice.

A skilled communicator and trusted team leader, Dr Lin’s work spans clinical practice, public health, disaster response, and global collaboration. As noted in a 2023 BMJ interview, “Hospitals need to reduce their carbon emissions and educate the public on planetary health. Family doctors can lead the way.”

Eastern Mediterranean Region: Dr Fatemeh Najafipour

Dr Fatemeh Najafipour of Iran is the 2025 recipient of the WONCA Five Star Doctor Award for the Eastern Mediterranean Region. With over two decades of dedicated work in both rural and urban primary care, she embodies the values of comprehensive, compassionate family medicine across clinical care, education, leadership, and system development.

Since qualifying as a family medicine specialist in 2002, Dr Najafipour has worked in underserved areas of Iran with a strong focus on chronic disease, geriatric care, and infectious disease prevention. During her rural service, she was actively involved in implementing tuberculosis control under the DOTS strategy. One particularly complex case – managing TB in a young HIV-positive patient – required not only strong clinical judgment, but also sensitive engagement and trust-building with the local community.

She later led the re-establishment of a diabetes clinic using a multidisciplinary approach, integrating clinical care, patient education, and collaborative practice. This project was formally recognised by the Vice Chancellor of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences as a model of innovative, team-based care.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Najafipour served as a frontline family physician, volunteering at a university-affiliated triage and outpatient treatment centre and supervising vaccination clinics as part of the broader public health response.

Alongside her clinical work, she has played a vital role in teaching medical interns and residents during their family medicine rotations and has supported policy and capacity development through her service on the board of the Iranian Family Medicine Specialists Association.

Her nominators praised her “ability to balance individual and community health needs” and her skill in “working harmoniously with different organisations to implement comprehensive healthcare solutions” – qualities that make her an exemplary family physician and a deserving recipient of this award. Dr. Najafipour’s career reflects the Five Star Doctor principles—excellence in care, education, leadership, and community health.

Europe Region: Dr Jana Bendová and Professor Péter Torzsa

Dr Jana Bendová is recognised for her tireless work to modernise family medicine in Slovakia, while maintaining deep roots in her local practice. With over 20 years of experience in a rural setting, she has consistently provided patient-centred, evidence-based care, with a strong emphasis on prevention and continuity.
 
Beyond her clinical role, she has helped shape national health policy, introduced digital tools such as e-prescriptions, and advocated for general practice through her work with the Slovak Society of General Practice. She served as a key organiser of the WONCA Europe Conference in Bratislava in 2019, raising the international profile of Slovak family doctors.
 
She is also a dedicated educator and communicator – mentoring students, speaking in national media, and helping reduce stigma around mental health. Her public engagement includes a popular health blog, national campaigns, and regular appearances on radio and television.
 
One colleague described her as someone who “creates a seamless connection” between local practice, national systems, and international collaboration.

Professor Péter Torzsa has combined his role as a university leader with a long-standing commitment to patient care and health system reform in Hungary. He currently leads the Department of Family Medicine at Semmelweis University in Budapest and continues to care for more than 2,000 patients in his own practice.
 
Prof Torzsa actively participated in the ‘For 3 Generations’ community care model, bringing together general practitioners and paediatricians to deliver lifestyle programmes, preventive screening, and school-based education. His research and public education work focuses on topics such as sleep apnoea, depression, health literacy, and burnout prevention.
 
He has supervised dozens of PhD students and trainees, helped reform residency training, and serves on national and international committees. As national representative for EGPRN and President of the Hungarian Research Association of Family Physicians, he has helped build networks for primary care research and mentorship.
 
“Health literacy is a big problem in Hungary,” he has said, “and family doctors have a responsibility to help close that gap” .

He has four children and is very proud of his eldest son, who is a general practitioner resident at Semmelweis University.

North America Region: Dr Kim Yu

WONCA is pleased to name Dr Kim Yu of the United States as the 2025 Five Star Doctor Award recipient for the North America Region. A family physician, educator, and health equity advocate with more than 25 years of experience, Dr Yu exemplifies the values of primary care leadership in action – locally, nationally, and globally.

Dr Yu currently serves as Director of Health Care Strategy at Korean Community Services in Southern California, and as a national strategy consultant for the American Board of Family Medicine. Her clinical career has been marked by service to underserved and diverse populations, integrating language access, culturally competent care, and social determinants into everyday practice. She is also deeply committed to international collaboration, having led medical missions and supported disaster responses in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and the United States.

Her leadership extends across major national organisations including the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the California Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Medical Association. She has held senior roles in healthcare quality, accountable care, and value-based care delivery – notably at Aledade and Vituity – and helped shape strategic policies supporting primary care reform, workforce diversity, and advocacy.

As Chair of WONCA’s Special Interest Group on Health Equity and the U.S. lead for the Working Party on Women and Family Medicine, Dr Yu has also created important platforms for dialogue and support among colleagues. Her online networks, including a Facebook group for physician mothers in family medicine with over 3,000 members, have become vital spaces for connection and mentoring.

South Asia Region: Dr Preethi Wijegoonewardene

Dr Preethi Wijegoonewardene of Sri Lanka is the 2025 recipient of the WONCA Five Star Doctor Award for the South Asia Region. A practising family physician for over 40 years, Dr Preethi has played a leading role in the advancement of family medicine across South Asia, while continuing to provide compassionate, community-based care from his long-established clinic in Colombo.
 
Dr Preethi is well known as a mentor, teacher, and examiner, having educated generations of undergraduates and postgraduates in Sri Lanka’s medical schools. His clinic remains a valued learning site for clinical training, and he has shaped national family medicine standards through his involvement with the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine and multiple national academic committees.

In 2002, he was unanimously elected President of the Sri Lanka Medical Association – the parent body of all doctors in the country – a rare and significant recognition of a family physician’s leadership at the highest level of national medical governance.
 
He was first elected regional president in 2007, when the Middle East and South Asia formed a single regional grouping within WONCA. Following the later division of that region into two – the Eastern Mediterranean region and the South Asia region – Dr Preethi continued as President of the newly formed WONCA South Asia Region from 2010 to 2013. During this time, he worked to strengthen WONCA’s presence in the region, including supporting India’s return to WONCA membership and helping establish regional conferences in Nepal and Mumbai. He also played a central role in expanding the MRCGP International South Asia exam, significantly raising the quality and visibility of family medicine in the region.
 
Despite his stature, Dr Preethi remains a humble and gracious colleague. His peers describe him as “ever smiling,” with a passion for teaching and an unwavering commitment to collaboration. His contributions have been recognised through honorary fellowships, lifetime achievement awards, and continued leadership in ethics, chronic disease care, and postgraduate education .

Celebrating the global family of family doctors

Each of these regional winners has demonstrated the values, leadership, and dedication that make family doctors central to stronger, more equitable health systems. Their work reflects the depth and diversity of primary care worldwide – and the role of family medicine in advancing healthier communities.

The winner of the Global Five Star Doctor Award 2024 – 2025 will be announced during the WONCA Awards Ceremony on Saturday, 20 September 2025 at 16:00, at the WONCA World Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. The overall winner will be selected from the regional winners from 2024 and this year’s winners. We invite all members of the global WONCA community to join us in celebrating their achievements.