Newsletter: December 2016

Prof Amanda Howe of the UK has just taken office as WONCA President, and is our first woman president. The handover occurred at the WONCA World conference in Rio in early November 2016. Here is her personal world view from Rio.

Professeur Amanda Howe vient de prendre ses fonctions en tant que Présidente de WONCA et première femme à ce poste. La passation des pouvoirs a eu lieu à la Conférence mondiale de WONCA à Rio au début novembre 2016. Voici, de Rio, sa vision personnelle du monde.

La Profesora Amanda Howe del Reino Unido ha asumido el cargo de Presidenta de WONCA, y será nuestra primera mujer presidente. La toma de posesión tuvo lugar en el Congreso mundial de WONCA en Río de Janeiro a prinicpios de este noviembre de 2016. Compartimos aquí su visión personal del Congreso de Río.

The CEO, Garth Manning, reports on the recent WONCA World Council meeting followed by the World conference in Rio.

WONCA World has a new Executive Committee who will serve until November 2016.Our first woman President,, Prof Amanda Howe, has just taken over from Prof Michael Kidd.

Marc Rivo, MD MPH, past WONCA editor (2001-2010) of WONCA News, received the prestigious WONCA Fellowship, in Rio, in November 2016. The current WONCA Editor asked him to write about his activities and passions. Marc is President of the Southeast Region of the American Friends of Bar Ilan University, and supporter with his wife Karen of the BIU Medical School and its Department of Population Health. He has chosen to write about his involvement in the BIU hoping it is of interest to WONCA Members.

WONCA Editor, Karen Flegg and WONCA South Asia Rural leader, Pratyush Kumar, paid visits to primary care clinics in the progressive Brazilian Health System. Here are their impressions.

The WONCA Rio statement was launched By Professor Michael Kidd at the opening ceremony of the WONCA World conference held recently in Rio. He also launched the following items developed in the last triennium.

WONCA Europe and WONCA World organised a bursary call and offered funding for colleagues to attend the 21st WONCA World Conference and the 17 winners traveled to Rio de Janeiro

At the WONCA World conference opening ceremony, in Rio de Janeiro, WONCA President, Prof Michael Kidd released the “Rio Statement” calling for all countries to increase the number of family doctors to achieve high quality comprehensive primary care and universal health coverage.

The report, Achieving Universal Health Coverage: technology for innovative primary care education, was officially released at the 21st WONCA World Conference of Family Doctors in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by WONCA and iheed.

We are delighted to announce the publication of a special WONCA Edition of the journal Education for Primary Care with exclusive access available to WONCA readers

Dr Viviana Martinez-Bianchi from USA and Argentina was elected in Rio, as a Member-at-Large on the WONCA World executive and is the new WONCA WHO Liaison person. She reports on the WHO presence and presentations at our recent World conference in Rio.

At the Sixty-ninth World Health Assembly Member States officially adopted the Framework on integrated people-centred health services (IPCHS) and its supporting resolution, formally giving the WHO Secretariat the mandate to work across the organization to support the implementation, national adaptation and operationalization of the Framework. The new website aims to be a steward for the Framework

The 14th WONCA World Rural Health Conference will be held at the Cairns Convention Centre, Australia, from 29 April to 2 May 2017. The conference will be based around themes most relevant to all rural and remote health practitioners. These include social and environmental determinants of health; leadership, education and workforce; social accountability and social capital, and rural clinical practices: people and services.

“Young Doctors”, doctors from developing countries, and medical students, are invited to apply for bursaries to support them to attend the WONCA Rural Health Conference which will be held in Cairns, Australia from 29 April -2 May 2017. Others are invited to support bursaries for colleagues or medical students.

The WONCA Working Party on Research's new Chair, Prof Felicity Goodyear-Smith, reports on the meeting in Rio's development of activity plans for the next two years.

The 14th WONCA World Rural Health Conference will be held at the Cairns Convention Centre, Australia, from 29 April to 2 May 2017. The conference will be based around themes most relevant to all rural and remote health practitioners. These include social and environmental determinants of health; leadership, education and workforce; social accountability and social capital, and rural clinical practices: people and services.

“Young Doctors”, doctors from developing countries, and medical students, are invited to apply for bursaries to support them to attend the WONCA Rural Health Conference which will be held in Cairns, Australia from 29 April -2 May 2017. Others are invited to support bursaries for colleagues or medical students.

We are delighted to announce the publication of a special WONCA Edition of the journal Education for Primary Care with exclusive access available to WONCA readers

At the Rio conference several new WONCA Special Interest Groups (SIGs) were announced. This month we feature the convenors of two of these, namely Dr Victor Ng of Canada (SIG on Emergency Medicine) and Dr Miguel Pizzanelli of Uruguay (SIG on Quaternary Prevention and Overmedicalization).

The WONCA Rio statement was launched By Professor Michael Kidd at the opening ceremony of the WONCA World conference held recently in Rio. He also launched the following items developed in the last triennium.