AfriWON Newsletter: Botswana 2026 Post-Conference Edition
From Gaborone, forward: young African family doctors on the road to Cape Town
AfriWON Renaissance Newsletter, Botswana 2026 Post-Conference Edition (PDF)
AfriWON Renaissance, the Young Doctors' Movement of the WONCA Africa Region, has published a post-conference edition on its week in Gaborone, Botswana. It covers the AfriWON pre-conference, "Rising Together: Young Family Physicians Shaping Climate-Resilient Primary Care in Africa", held at Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital on 9 September 2026, and the 9th WONCA Africa Region Conference on 10 and 11 September, under the theme "We Are One: Africa United to Advance Planetary Health". Delegates planted trees with Green Botswana, and 46 participants visited four Gaborone clinics in the first field run of the AfriWON Exchange and Partnerships Framework.
The edition reports on sessions with WONCA President Prof Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, WONCA Africa Region President Prof Bob Mash, A/Prof Karen Flegg and Prof Klaus von Pressentin, and on a plenary honouring five past AfriWON leaders, among them Dr Nana Kwame Ayisi-Boateng. Young doctors from Botswana, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia describe what they are taking home. Dr Maria Nakitende tells how a casual conversation led her to Gaborone, where she was asked at short notice to moderate a fireside chat. With the WONCA World Conference coming to Cape Town in November 2027, Dr Simon Mashudu Marcus, Chair of the WONCA World Young Doctors' Movement Pre-Conference 2027, looks ahead.
In this edition
- The week in context and Young Doctors' Movement news (pages 3 to 4)
- Rising Together: the AfriWON pre-conference, by Dr Onaopemipo Kolade (page 6)
- The climate-health nexus, with Dr Mandisa Tenego (pages 7 and 9)
- Demystifying primary care research, with Prof Klaus von Pressentin (page 8)
- The compass that guides us, with Prof Viviana Martinez-Bianchi (page 10)
- Leadership without a title, with Prof Bob Mash and A/Prof Karen Flegg (pages 11 to 12)
- AfriWON through the years: the past leaders' plenary (page 13)
- Attendee voices from Tanzania, Botswana and Ghana (pages 14 to 18)
- From framework to first steps: the AfriWON Exchange, with Dr Brenda Maingi (pages 19 to 20)
- Country features: Ghana, South Africa and Zambia (pages 21 to 26)
- From a casual conversation to Gaborone, by Dr Maria Nakitende (pages 27 to 28)
- Learning that travels, and closing reflections: we are one, we move forward (pages 29 to 33)
The edition is edited by Dr Peace Atangwa Nantale, with Dr Thando Agape Dube as Co-Editor.
AfriWON Renaissance Newsletter, Botswana 2026 Post-Conference Edition (PDF)
Useful links