Rural Round-up: WONCA Africa rural group endorsed
Dan Abubakar from Nigeria, reports on the WONCA Working Party on Rural Practice (WONCA Rural) forming an African region group.
The concept of a WONCA Rural Africa group (WoRA) was introduced at the 14th WONCA Rural Assembly in Cairns Australia on 1 May 2017 and was unanimously accepted. WoRA will be launched in August 2017 during the 5th WONCA Africa region conference in Pretoria and in India during 15th Rural WONCA conference 2018.
The idea began when WONCA Rural South Asia (WoRSA) was launched in Colombo, Sri Lanka in February 2016 and Dr Dan Abubakar from Nigeria was there learn from them.
Why we need WoRA
Most of the Africa region is rural and most doctors practice mixed rural-urban in terms of patients treated in their facilities.
WONCA Rural Africa Group (WoRA) will be beneficial to medical practitioners in Africa through experience sharing, collaborative research, communication, telemedicine, and rural exchange programs within and outside the Africa region. There is also the possibility of free medical missions in emergency situations such as in outbreaks of communicable diseases (eg Lassa fever and Ebola virus). WONCA Rural Africa can be a health intervention organization during such strife to organize, strategise, coordinate and carry out quality health care service delivery. It will also encourage more regional integration in Africa and the redesigning of rural medical education to meet urgent needs in Africa.
Membership shall be drawn from member organizations in the Africa Region, family physicians, general practitioners, young doctors. Rural doctors / urban doctors with a passion for rural health are encouraged to join.
Vision: Improving Health of rural Africans.
Our objectives include:
- To represent Rural Family doctors within WONCA Africa Region
- To network and collaborate with organizations of rural doctors
- To stimulate membership growth for WONCA Africa Region / AfriWON Renaissance in particular and WONCA in general.
- To collaborate with organizations of rural doctors.
Our committees will be:
• Education
• Communication
• Telemedicine
• Research
• Networking
• Exchange Programs
• Success Stories
Membership is being actively recruited into the committees by nominations from leadership of the MOs and by direct application by doctors who feel qualified to work in specific committees; and by the advisory group.
Who are the leaders?
Interim executive committee
- Dr Dan Abubakar – Convenor / Interim Chair
- Prof Ndonwa Ndifreke - Co-convenor
- Prof Sunnanda Ray
Advisory Group
- Prof Ian Couper – Past Chair, WONCA Rural
- Prof Udonwa Ndifreke – Council Member, WONCA Rural
- Prof Victor Inem –Council Member, WONCA Rural
- Dr John Wynn-Jones – President , WONCA Rural
Email us
WONCAruralafrica@gmail.com
WONCArural@gmail.com