Newsletter: February 2018

Whether we speak of love, new opportunities, or traditions and festivals, we know that life with its annual cycle is both predictable and uncertain. For most of us, we look back on a year at its end and are grateful if no major griefs or losses have occurred; and we recognise the joys and sorrows of those around us. It is a poignant time to think of those without homes or hearths...

Que nous parlions d’amour, de nouvelles opportunités ou de traditions et festivals, nous savons que la vie, suivant son cycle annuel, est à la fois prévisible et incertaine. Pour la plupart d’entre nous, nous revisitons l’année à sa fin et sommes reconnaissants de n’avoir subi ni chagrin ni perte majeure et reconnaissons les joies et les peines de ceux qui nous entourent. C’est un moment poignant quand on pense à tous ceux qui sont sans abris ou foyers ...

Tanto si hablamos del amor, de las nuevas oportunidades, como de las tradiciones y las festividades, sabemos que la vida con su ciclo anual es tan predecible como incierta. Muchos de nosotros, miramos atrás y vemos un año y que ha llegado a su fin y nos sentimos agradecidos porque no hayan sucedido más desastres; y reconocemos las felicidades y las tristezas de todos aquellos de nuestro entorno. En estos días es conmovedor pensar en todas aquellas personas que no tiene casa ni corazones ...

This will, of course, be a busy year for us, with the World Council and conference scheduled for Seoul, Korea, in October. Plans are already well advanced, and I wanted to use this month’s column to promote a number of WONCA awards and bursaries which are available to assist attendance at the world conference.

WONCA CEO, Garth Manning writes about World Family Doctor Day coming on May 19.​ Theme : "Family doctors - leading the way to better health" and the President woudl like your examples of activties that demonstrate this theme.

Dr Veena Kumari was a 2017 Montegut Scholarship winner for the WONCA South Asia Region. She has recently taken up a new job as an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine in Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan. Dr Kumari attended the South Asia region conference in Nepal from 24-26 November 2017 as well as The Spice Route pre conference. Here she reports on her experience.

Dr Pratyush Kumar, well known energetic leader of the WONCA South Asia Rural group (WoRSA) and Organising Secretary for the coming WONCA World Rural health conference in India has developed a health calendar for the new year. "I wanted to highlight gender equality out of the SDGs (January), as most of these diseases get lots of coverage, but gender equality as a health issue is much less discussed, although its vital to transform healthcare.".

Dr Allan Pelch of Denmark, long time organiser / coordinator of the Scandinavian Delegation of Family Physicians which dates back to 1988 and the World WONCA Conference in New Orleans, reflects on 30 years of activities. "WONCA conferences lead to opportunities to meet other family physicians and learn about their experiences, collaborate on research and to visit local practices."

Dr Sanam Shah of Pakistan was awarded the Montegut Scholarship for the South Asia region. She is the national secretary, Pakistan for the WONCA Spice Route Young Doctors’ Movement and attended the recent South Asia region conference in Nepal.

Dr Mya Win Hnit, of Myanmar, was selected as a Montegut scholarship winner to attend 2017 WONCA Asia Pacific Regional Conference, which was recently held on November 1‐4 in Pattaya, Thailand. He reports on his activities and proposed actions.

The WONCA World conference is coming to Seoul, Korea from October 17-21, 2018. Registrations are open, some keynote speakers are announced, and abstracts are still open for oral and poster presentations.

What’s new about the 23rd WONCA Europe Conference coming to Krakow in May? We have new Key Note Speakers of the Conference: Dr Anna Stavdal - President of WONCA Europe, Dr Przemysław Guła, Prof Sara Willems. Early bird registration ends 28 February.

Amanda Howe escribre acerca del Kit Estudiantil para la Responsabilidad Social en las Escuelas Médicas". Foto (arriba) Amanda firmando el MOU con la Federación Internacional de Asociaciones de Estudiantes de Medicina (IFMSA) en Tanzania, en 2017.

Amanda Howe writes about The International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) and the Training for Health Equity Network (‘THEnet’) recently published ‘Students’ Toolkit for Social Accountability in Medical Schools’. the ‘Students’ Toolkit for Social Accountability in Medical Schools’. Amanda writes "As family doctors, we have an important role to play in supporting the move towards delivering training for health professionals that improves social accountability."

Prof Val Wass, chair of the WONCA Working Party on Education, updates us on the latest and very successful activities of the working party in Thailand, and more to come in 2018

We are a research team supported by WONCA and we seek panel members from Low and Middle Income Countries. The team is led by Prof Felicity Goodyear-Smith, Chair of the WONCA Working Party on Research, and co-investigators include WONCA President Prof Amanda Howe. Our project will identify the most important research questions on the organisation and financing of primary health care in low and middle income countries throughout the world.

​Lauren Smithson MD, together with some American colleagues struggling with communication and isolation in wanting to train in rural medicine, started the society for young rural surgeons (SYRUS). This was something that came out of a need for people with rural interests in health care being able to find mentors, jobs, and training opportunities in rural medical careers. Basically, we need connectivity, and we need a strong rural voice in medical training. Lauren is a surgeon in St Anthony, Newfoundland and writes more about SYRUS.

Prof Maria van den Muijsenbergh, chair of WONCA SIG on migrant care, international health and travel medicine and on behalf of Guus Busser, new co-chair of the SIG, gives a new year update.

News and items of interest from WONCA's SIG Family Violence​ - Europrev Working Group, Mentor Mothers in Family Practice, WAVE

Dr Veena Kumari was a 2017 Montegut Scholarship winner for the WONCA South Asia Region. She has recently taken up a new job as an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine in Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan. Dr Kumari attended the South Asia region conference in Nepal from 24-26 November 2017 as well as The Spice Route pre conference. Here she reports on her experience.

Anna Stavdal of Norway, President of WONCA Europe, is interviewed by Pere Vilanova of the Spanish Society of Family Medicine, semFYC. Topics include Family medicine in Norway and Europe and the recent WONCA Europe statements on refugees and planetary health. This is an edited English version of that interview.

What’s new about the 23rd WONCA Europe Conference coming to Krakow in May? We have new Key Note Speakers of the Conference: Dr Anna Stavdal - President of WONCA Europe, Dr Przemysław Guła, Prof Sara Willems. Early bird registration ends 28 February.

Dr Sanam Shah of Pakistan was awarded the Montegut Scholarship for the South Asia region. She is the national secretary, Pakistan for the WONCA Spice Route Young Doctors’ Movement and attended the recent South Asia region conference in Nepal.

Dr Mya Win Hnit, of Myanmar, was selected as a Montegut scholarship winner to attend 2017 WONCA Asia Pacific Regional Conference, which was recently held on November 1‐4 in Pattaya, Thailand. He reports on his activities and proposed actions.

Eva ‘Irene’ Yu Maglonzo MD has just completed her two year term as president of the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP). Here she reflects on two years’ of achievements. “Each one of us can make a difference. Together we make change”

There are a number of new resources now added on the WONCA website.Some have been provided by WONCA Working Parties and Special Interest Groups and others are more Goodfellow Gems and PEARLS.