Newsletter: June 2016

I recently visited Saudi Arabia as a member of a World Health Organization mission. We had been invited to review primary health care across the country. This visit allowed me to witness the changes underway in a country that has firmly adopted a policy of strengthening primary health care through a family practice model.

J'ai récemment visité l'Arabie Saoudite en tant que membre d'une mission de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé. Nous étions invités à examiner les soins de santé primaires à travers le pays.

Recientemente visité Arabia Saudí como miembro de una misión de la Organización Mundial de la Salud. Fuimos invitados para hacer una revisión de la Atención Primaria en todo el país.

El próximo 19 de mayo es el Día del médico de familia. Se trata de un día para destacar y celebrar el papel y la contribución de los médicos de familia en todo el mundo.

May 19. 2016 - World Family Doctor Day. WONCA President, Prof Michael Kidd sends greetings to all colleagues thanking them work they do throughout the year.

Garth Manning reports on the WONCA website upgrade, the planning for the World conference in Rio, information on Zika virus, and on his recent participation in the Cumbre in Costa Rica.

This year as always it seems World Family Doctor Day has grown in popularity. The theme of smoking cessation was taken up with enthusiasm as evidenced by some of the posters produced. Our feature is on the videos produced by WONCA’s young doctors’ movements

The winner of the WONCA Global Five Star Doctor Award for 2016 is Dr Atai Anne Deborah Omoruto from Uganda, known to all as Atai. I am sad to advise that Atai passed away in Kampala on May 5, 2016 after a short illness.

In Copenhagen in June we are delighted to present: Katherine Rouleau, associate professor with the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto – giving a keynote on Inequality in health and specific patient groups

I was invited to a policy summit in Washington last month. Hosted by the Robert Graham Centre, and attended by many family medicine leads from the U.S.A., its declared purpose was to look at how changes in the payment structures for health care in the U.S.A. may, or may not, incentivise the ‘triple aim’ of first contact, coordinated, continuous, comprehensive primary care.

El mes pasado me invitaron a una cumbre sobre política en Washington. Organizada por parte del Robert Graham Centre, y con la asistencia de muchos médicos de familia líderes de los Estados Unidos, el objetivo que perseguía la cumbre era el de estudiar hasta qué punto los cambios en las estructuras de pago de la asistencia sanitaria en los Estados Unidos incentivan o no el “triple objetivo” de la Atención Primaria de contacto personalizado, coordinado, continuado y atención completa.

A story from Pakistan - Dr Rabi Afridi moves to a remote area of Pakistan and commences work in charge of a Basic Health Unit. "My name is Rabia Afridi, the youngest and most pampered of my family. I was born into a Pathan family from the North West province of Pakistan"

Aa sample story has been submitted from the rural areas of Pakistan by Dr Sanam Shah. You will realise after reading this story that why there is need for accessible, affordable and quality healthcare in rural areas. She has written it so beautifully that you can almost feel and visualise the situation faced by doctor as well as the patient.

Members of the WONCA Working Party on Mental Health are participating in a major policy initiative to help Moldova move from institutional to community-based mental health care. In collaboration with the European Association for Communication in Healthcare (EACH) and NIVEL in the Netherlands, and with coordination from Trimbos, we are running a series of 'train the trainer' courses.

This year as always it seems World Family Doctor Day has grown in popularity. The theme of smoking cessation was taken up with enthusiasm as evidenced by some of the posters produced. Our feature is on the videos produced by WONCA’s young doctors’ movements

Dr Jo Buchanan, president of EURACT reports - a visit to Ukraine. Following the council meeting in Budapest meeting I travelled to Uzghorod in the Ukraine with Pavlo Kolesnyk, at the invitation of Professor Ivan Chopey where I spoke at a national Conference of Family Doctors on the development of Family medicine in Europe.

The Taiwan Association of Family Medicine has released the 2016 Taiwan Declaration of Family Medicine to be issued during their 30 year Anniversary.

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), offers a statement in support of the WONCA Europe 2015 Istanbul Statement:

Dr Sanath Hettige has won the first prize for the best medical invention (2013), for his invention of papaya leaf syrup, tablets and capsules for the treatment of dengue fever and other medical conditions.

Three leading international One Health groups, the One Health Commission, One Health Initiative Autonomous pro bono Team, and the Health Platform Foundation are partnering to create a global “One Health Day” on November 3.