New Chair for SIG on Migrant Care, International Health and Travel Medicine

Maria van den Muijsenbergh, Chair of the WONCA Special Interest Group on Migrant Care, International Health and Travel Medicine, introduces the new chair Guus Busser. (Photo shows Maria and Guus together in Rio 2016)

Ten years ago, at the WONCA Europe conference in Istanbul, a small group of us took the initiative to start a special interest group on migrant care; a year later we combined our SIG with the existing SIG on travel medicine.

Since then, we organised workshops at every WONCA Europe conference, as well as at most world conferences, and now we have over 150 members all over the world (though most originating from Europe or Northern America). This year, the first WONCA supported international book on health of and primary healthcare for migrants will be published to which many of you have contributed.

Given the still growing rate of (forced) migration and international travel, the precarious health and often limited access to good primary healthcare of many immigrants, and at the same time the challenges family doctors face in providing good quality care to them, our SIG still has a lot of relevant work to do.

After ten years however, I am very glad that my dear colleague Guus Busser has accepted to take over the chair of our SIG. He is a very experienced GP and teacher of migrant care, and allready known to may of you as he has been involved in the organisation of our workshops for many years as well.

I want to thank you all for your enthusiastic contributions to our workshops and other activities, but above all for your ongoing attention and care for our migrant patients.

I wish you all well,
Best regards,
Maria van den Muijsenbergh

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