Coronavirus (COVID-19) resources

Family Doctors on the front line

COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic by WHO, and is affecting everyone in every part of the globe. Family doctors are on the front line of medical care – both during the acute phase and also in dealing afterwards with the sequelae of the illness. In fact our theme for World Family Doctor Day 2020 is most appropriate – “Family doctors on the front line”.

Through this webpage our aim is to provide a series of articles relevant to family doctors about COVID-19. We will also provide links to WHO and other reputable websites which contain valuable information for family doctors having to deal with COVID-19 cases.

President's messages

Our President, Dr Donald Li, has written a number of articles on COVID-19 in recent weeks.
These have been published in WONCA News and elsewhere, based in the main on the experiences of our colleagues in China, which was the first (and so far, worst) country affected. A number of these are listed below.

Corona Virus: BJGP Article 28 January 2020

Dunlop C, Howe A, Li D, Allen LN. The coronavirus outbreak: the central role of primary care in emergency preparedness and response

BMJ article March 23, 2020

Li DKT, Zhu S.
Contributions and challenges of general practitioners in China fighting against the novel coronavirus crisis

WONCA Webinar Series on COVID-19

WONCA launched the first COVID-19 webinar on 12 April at 1pm UTC with the participation of the WONCA President, President elect and representatives from all seven WONCA regions. Subsequent webinars will usually be held every Sunday at 1pm UTC.
Learn more on how to join webinars and view previous webinars

Rewatch the first WONCA COVID-19 webinar on YouTube


This video is the first WONCA webinar on COVID-19 launched on 12 April 2020. In this session, the WONCA President, Dr Donald Li, the President elect, Dr Anna Stavdal, the executive committee and representatives from all seven WONCA regions presented key experiences and participated in a panel discussion.

The fifth WONCA COVID-19 webinar - PHC for UHC

This week’s WONCA webinar will take place as usual at 1300 GMT/UTC on Sunday 10th May. This week’s topic is PHC-UHC. It will be moderated by our President-elect, Dr Anna Stavdal, with a prestigious panel including:
Dr Bente Mikkelsen, Director of NCD Department at WHO HQ
Dr Ed Kelley, Director of Integrated Health Services at WHO HQ
Dr Vivi Martinez Bianchi, WONCA’s WHO Liaison

The second WONCA COVID-19 webinar - Mental Health


In the second WONCA COVID-19 webinar on Sunday 19 April, we focused on mental health aspects of the pandemic. The session considered how COVID-19 affects everyone’s wellbeing, how patients with pre-existing mental illness are at particular risk, and how we, family doctors, can safeguard the mental health of our patients, and ourselves.

The webinar was organized by WONCA and the WONCA Working Party on Mental Health, with the contributions of: Prof Christopher Dowrick, Adj/Prof Sandra Fortes, Prof Christos Lionis and Dr Fahmy Hanna (WHO). It was introduced by WONCA President, Dr Donald Li, and moderated by WONCA CEO, Dr Garth Manning. The in-meeting discussion was led by WONCA President elect, Dr Anna Stavdal.

The third WONCA COVID-19 webinar - Education

In the third WONCA COVID-19 webinar on Sunday 26 April, we focused on the adaption of education during a pandemic; how medical schools can evolve to deliver in a virtual context; how to adapt postgraduate training and the assessment; and how the diverse CPD needs can be addressed globally on-line.

This webinar was organised by WONCA and the WONCA Working Party on Education, with the contributions of Prof Val Wass, Dr Victor Ng, Dr Camille Gajria, Dr Gaya Gamhewage, Dr Vivianna Martinez-Bianchi and Dr Robin Ramsay. It was introduced by WONCA President, Dr Donald Li, and closing remarks were delivered by WONCA President elect, Dr Anna Stavdal.

The fourth WONCA COVID -19 Webinar-Family Violence

In the fourth WONCA COVID-19 #webinar on Sunday 3 May, we focused on #FamilyViolence. Not only have some of the risk factors greatly increased by the lockdown, economic crisis, and social isolation, but also the availability of specialized services and ways of accessing them have changed significantly. The aims of the webinar were to give an overview of family violence highlighting aspects related to the pandemic and offer practical tools useful to family doctors in daily practice, as well as in the current situation.

The webinar was organised by WONCA and the WONCA Special Interest Group on Family Violence, with the contributions of: Dr Hagit Dascal-Weichhendler, Asst Prof Nena Kopčavar Guček, Prof Gene Feder, Ms Medina Johnson, Dr Leo Pas, Prof Sajaratulnisah Othman, Dr Joy Mugambi. It was introduced by WONCA President, Dr Donald Li, and in-meeting discussion was led by WONCA President elect, Dr Anna Stavdal.

WHO resources

WHO: Occupational safety and health in public health emergencies: a manual for protecting health workers and responders

A manual which provides an overview of the main OSH risks faced by emergency responders during disease outbreaks and other emergencies, such as natural disasters, chemical incidents, radiological emergencies and emergencies involving conflicts.

WHO Course on Emerging respiratory viruses, including COVID-19: methods for detection, prevention, response and control

The course provides a general introduction to COVID-19 and emerging respiratory viruses and is particularly intended for public health professionals, incident managers and personnel working for the UN, international organizations and NGOs. Course material is in English, Spanish, French and simplified Chinese.

WHO EPI-WIN updates

WHO Information Network for Epidemics-EPI-WIN


A key component of epidemic and pandemic preparedness is ensuring systems are in place for real-time information to flow from a trusted source to the people at risk.

AAFP information

We are especially grateful to the American Academy of Family Physicians for permission to quote their various valuable resources.

Other items of interest

Global GP project - perspectives of worldwide family physicians

Views from family doctors in Hong Kong, Spain, Italy, Germany and now also includes perspectives from Spain, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil

COVID-19 for Public in Arabic language

A video featuring Dr. Jinan Usta, WONCA EMR  President, presenting information about COVID19 for the public, in Arabic language, in the form of Q&As