Newsletter: July 2019

My first official visit to Africa, to the WONCA Africa conference in Kampala, Uganda, was thoroughly enjoyable. Delegates from 32 different countries came to share their enthusiasm and experiences of developing family medicine across the continent and further afield. The conference was truly about person-centred primary health care

Mi primera visita oficial a África, para asistir al congreso de Kampala, en Uganda, fue muy agradable, de principio a fin. Varios delegados provenientes de 32 países diferentes vinieron a compartir su entusiasmo y sus experiencias en el desarrollo de una Medicina de Familia fuerte en todo el continent. El congreso estuvo realmente enfocado a la Atención Primaria centrada en la persona, y fue una gran oportunidad para animar más a los estudiantes

我于六月首次以WONCA主席身分到访非洲，出席于乌干达坎帕拉举行的非洲区域会议，来自32个不同国家的代表分享了发展家庭医学的经验与历程，令这次的非洲之旅获益良多。

J’ai bien apprécié ma première visite officielle en Afrique à la Conférence africaine de WONCA à Kampala en Ouganda. Des délégués de 32 pays étaient venus partager leur enthousiasme et leurs expériences concernant le développement de la médecine familiale à travers le continent et au-delà. Les soins de santé primaire centrés sur l’individu étaient au cœur de la conférence.

This month I’d like to highlight two new Special Interest Groups (SIGs) which the WONCA Executive has recently endorsed: SIG on Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Care and SIG on LGBTQ Health. Find out more about these groups.

During the recent WONCA Europe conference in Bratislava, the WONCA editor travelled outside the city to the nearby town of Pezinok on a visit to the practice of Dr Adriana Šimková. It was a multinational group with the editor being accompanied by colleagues Olgun Göktaş from Turkey and Hagit Dascal-Weichhendler from Israel.

When Anna Stavdal stood for election as WONCA President-elect, in Seoul, she focused on the importance of adapting the core values of family medicine to current trends. Here she reflects on this issue, overmedicalisation and a recent BMJ article.

Klaus B von Pressentin reports on his attendance as the Montegut Scholar, at the WONCA Africa 2019 conference, in Kampala, Uganda, from June 4-8, 2019. Klaus is from Mossel Bay sub-district, South Africa. The Montegut Global Scholars Program is funded by the American Board of Family Medicine Foundation (ABFM-F).

As is now the custom, World Family Doctor Day was celebrated widely in many countries across the globe. Of particular note this year was the launch of two books which are featured in this report - both show what our specialty of family medicine is about - but from totally different perspectives. Other member organisation reports formally submitted by May 31 are included in the attached document.

Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, MD, WONCA WHO liaison person, recently attended the World Health Assembly (WHA) as part of the WONCA delegation and submits this report from WHA72. This is my third year in Geneva as WONCA’s WHO Liaison, and I perceived a difference this time. A real and new awareness that what the world needs to improve health outcomes is for the majority of care to be delivered by Primary Health Care (PHC), through the work of interdisciplinary teams, and that these teams need to be well trained, well organized, well supported and well-funded to succeed.

The Vasco da Gama Movement (VdGM) for young doctors in Europe was prominent at the recent WONCA Europe conference. Dr Katarzyna Nessler, new chair of the Movement reports:

The Human Side of Medicine : Learning what it's like to be a patient and what it's like to be a physician

Scholarships are now available to help offset the cost of attendance for the 16th WONCA World Rural Health Conference Oct. 12-15 in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA.

WONCA 2020 Abu Dhabi recently launched its call for symposia and workshop abstracts and the committees have been hard at work promoting and developing content for the conference. In a bid to encourage greater attendance, WONCA 2020 Abu Dhabi joined the recently-concluded WONCA Europe

Shelly B Rodrigues, Deputy Executive Vice President, California Academy of Family Physicians and Chris Larrison, Principal, Healthcare Performance Consulting Inc, report on workshops at the recent WONCA Asia Pacific region conference in Kyoto on improving care of patients with depression and anxiety.

WONCA's Asia Pacific region conference comes to Auckland, New Zealand in 2020 from 23-26 April. Submissions for abstracts and early bird registration are now open.

El pasado 27 de octubre de 2018, el congreso de Astaná de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (WHO) aprovó una declaración para fortalecer la Atención Primaria. En ella se admite la importancia de la asistencia en Atención Primaria, como una de las funciones centrales de los sistemas sanitarios para conseguir la cobertura universal de salud.

On October 27, 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) Conference in Astana, approved a declaration to strengthen primary health care. It acknowledges the importance of primary health care, as a core function in health systems, to attain universal health coverage. This declaration is a welcome support for health reforms around the world particularly now it has been endorsed by the World Health Assembly.

Scholarships are now available to help offset the cost of attendance for the 16th WONCA World Rural Health Conference Oct. 12-15 in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA.

Shelly B Rodrigues, Deputy Executive Vice President, California Academy of Family Physicians and Chris Larrison, Principal, Healthcare Performance Consulting Inc, report on workshops at the recent WONCA Asia Pacific region conference in Kyoto on improving care of patients with depression and anxiety.

The WONCA Working Party on Women and Family medicine (WWPWFM) is active in the WONCA Africa region and has participated and organized preconference meetings, and workshops since 2009. WWPWFM Africa region also provide leadership and mentorship in the region through her members who are on the executive board of the WONCA Africa Region.

Prof Chris Dowrick, Chair of the WONCA Working Party on Mental Health reports on lots of news for you this month across the regions, and from our task groups.

The Human Side of Medicine : Learning what it's like to be a patient and what it's like to be a physician

Klaus B von Pressentin reports on his attendance as the Montegut Scholar, at the WONCA Africa 2019 conference, in Kampala, Uganda, from June 4-8, 2019. Klaus is from Mossel Bay sub-district, South Africa. The Montegut Global Scholars Program is funded by the American Board of Family Medicine Foundation (ABFM-F).

WONCA Europe announces its new Executive board elected in Bratislava in June.

WONCA's Asia Pacific region conference comes to Auckland, New Zealand in 2020 from 23-26 April. Submissions for abstracts and early bird registration are now open.

On behalf of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) we are very pleased to share with you a special milestone. June 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Certification Examination in Family Medicine and the Certification in the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CCFP) special designation.