Full Speed Ahead For Wonca's Membership

At the meeting of the Wonca Executive in Beijing, three new member organizations were welcomed into the Wonca family. We now have 93 member organizations representing family physicians in 77 different countries. The Kenya Association of Family Physicians was admitted as a full member. The Bangladesh Academy of Family Physicians and the Institute of Family Medicine Kenya Trust (INFA-MED) became Associate Members.

The Bangladesh Academy becomes the second organization from that country and represents both new and continued interest in the Middle East South Asia region (MESAR). We are also gratified to see a new interest in family medicine in the Africa Region. The two new members from Kenya are forerunners of what we anticipate will be a number of new members as there is a new growing interest in East Africa. The Kenya Association at present only has 21 members but we anticipate new growth in the future. The first Department of Family Medicine in the country has just been approved in Eldoret at Moi University. They have a new residency in the planning stages and three more affiliated residencies may soon be opened within this new department. INFA-MED is a foundation which has been started to further support the development of family medicine in Kenya. Several members of the Executive will be attending a conference in Nairobi in May and exploring ways in which Wonca can aid in the development of the specialty in Kenya.

A partial application from Bahrain was also discussed at the meeting but time did not permit completion of the paperwork. I anticipate that their application will be completed and considered at the next meeting. Since the Beijing meeting, we have had expressions of interest from organizations in Georgia, Italy, and Jordan. We are becoming an even larger worldwide movement!

Warren Heffron. M.D.
Chair Wonca Membership Committee.