From the CEO’s Desk

April, 2013

April saw me in South Asia, and a visit to Delhi to take part in the National Conference on Family Medicine and Primary Care, organised by the Academy of Family Physicians of India (AFPI).

March, 2013

The conference venue is excellent, the keynote speakers are of the highest quality, the scientific programme is stimulating and Prague is juts a wonderful place to visit, especially in June, so we anticipate possibly the best WONCA World conference ever.

February, 2013

Family medicine is well established in many countries but others struggle to get acceptance and recognition of our specialism, and one of WONCA’s key roles is to highlight and promote the discipline wherever and whenever we can. One of our initiatives was to establish a “World Family Doctors' Day”.

January, 2013

Bangkok in January – bright blue skies, daytime temperatures in the low to mid 30s, evening temperatures a very pleasant low 20s….. but it’s a great time to be in Thailand and I’m sure it’s mere coincidence, that our President, Rich Roberts, and President-elect, Michael Kidd, will arrive here in early February for the next Core Executive meeting!

January, 2013

The next six months will be especially busy, leading up to the World Council in June. As this will be the current Secretariat’s first World Council we are only too aware of how much work has to be done ...

November, 2012

New WONCA CEO, Dr Garth Manning, is encouraged by the number of individual family doctors seeking to join WONCA as direct members. He also writes of setting up the new WONCA secretariat in Bangkok.

November, 2012

The new Secretariat is slowly assuming its roles and responsibilities. The transition really is “work in progress” and we’re trying to make this one as seamless as we can. The Nominations and Awards Committee, under the Chairmanship of Professor Michael Kidd, is still seeking nominations for all WONCA posts which will come up for election or re-election at the World Council in Prague next June.

October, 2012

Dr Alfred Loh retires as Wonca CEO this week. He has been CEO since 2001. Read his final message to WONCA members and report on activites since 2001.

June, 2012

The 19th WONCA Asia-Pacific Regional Conference was held from 24–27 May, 2012, at the International Conference Center in the scenic island of Jeju, South Korea.

April, 2012

May 19, 2010 was declared World Family Doctor Day by the then outgoing Wonca World President, Chris van Weel, at the opening of the Wonca World Conference, in Cancun, Mexico.