World Family Doctor Day comes on May 19

World Family Doctor day is coming soon ...

May 19

What is your WONCA Member Organization doing this year?

Last year many of our colleagues across the globe celebrated the day by organising a variety of events and activities, and we received reports and photographs from many countries, which we were able to feature in WONCA News. Karen Flegg, the WONCA Editor, has produced a template for countries and College and societies and associations, to aid reporting:
submit your 2016 report here

This year the theme is smoking cessation. and at least one country has taken up this idea with great enthusiasm.

Portugal

“Portugal in motion and smoke-free!” will be the national motto of World Family Doctor Day, to be celebrated on May 19.

The Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine (APMGF) will celebrate World Family Doctor Day 2016 with a series of activities designed to promote regular physical activity and smoke abstinence.

Organized groups of family doctors and General and Family Medicine residents are going to engage the population all over the country, making good use of their communication skills and their close relationship with the communities to raise awareness of the inherent value associated with regular physical exercise. They will also point out the need for Portuguese people to stay away from tobacco products and highlight the damages they can cause. Structured exercise routines and simple strategies that can help people say no to tobacco will be the key messages to share during World Family Doctor Day 2016.

Photo: an example of a poster that APMGF will provide to the groups, to be posted in health centres, community services and institutions.

Caribbean

The Caribbean College of Family Physicians reports on proposed activites in Trindad and Tobago. They note the theme suggested by WONCA and WHO for 2016 is “Smoking Cessation-Get Ready for Plain Packaging” and CCFP hopes to incorporate this with their televised Family Doctor messages across their region on UN World No-Tobacco Day , May 31.

Already and article has been published in the Jamaica Observer. An excerpt appears below:

In 2016, five events are scheduled under the auspices of the Caribbean College of Family Physicians, the Association of General Practitioners of Jamaica, and the Family Medicine Postgraduate Programme of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. These are:
• A celebratory banquet at the Terra Nova Hotel on Friday, May 13;
• A church service of thanksgiving on May 14;
• An inaugural WFDD CME Conference at the Terra Nova Hotel, under the theme ‘Family doctors: The change agents in the non-communicable disease epidemic’ on May 15 from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm;
• Launch of ‘Adopt a health centre’ projects island wide on May 19. This is a programme that will see family doctor groups across the island partnering with community and corporate sponsors to contribute to the improvement of community health centres.
• A walkathon to raise money towards the ‘Adopt a health centre’ initiative is planned for later this year.

Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Academy of Family Physicians plans to celebrate World Family Doctor Day (WFDD) 2016. This time we have chalked out a new logo [Pictured], and anyone interested may use it for their own program. We plan to celebrate the day in two phases:

WFDD 2016 Rally: Members of the Academy will gather in the early morning in front of the Academy Office at Hatirpool, Dhaka. There we shall join a rally at 8.00 am sharp as in 2015 [Figure 3]. Not only our members and doctors, but also family members of the doctors and other enthusiastic local people shall join and enjoy the rally. We are making local people aware about the FDD-2016, and people are very curious and they are asking us about the significance of the day.

WFDD 2016 Discussions and Education Programme: The Academy will organize a discussion on WFDD at 9.00 am. Prof Ainul Islam Choudhury, Former President of the Academy, will preside over the meeting. Prof Hafizur Rahman, President of the Academy, will talk about the WFDD. Prof Kanu Bala will deliver a lecture on the ‘Management of Tuberculosis in Family Practice’.

see all information from Bangladesh, the Caribbean, Portugal
submit your Organization's report here