From the Headquarters: April 2021

The World Family Doctor Day, first declared in 2010 and celebrated every year on 19 May, is an opportunity to acknowledge and advocate for the pivotal role of family doctors and primary care teams.  
 
Last year, at the beginning of the pandemic, we emphasised the role of family doctors on the frontline, being those “first in, last out”. One year on, the WHO has appropriately designated 2021 the Year of Health and Care Workers, commemorating those who lost their lives in the pandemic and calling for urgent investments in health workers.  
 
We are all appreciative of the efforts and dedication of health and care workers, including family doctors and members of primary care teams. Taking stock of the ongoing crisis, it is also crucial to look ahead. Accordingly, this year’s World Family Doctor Day theme, “Building the future with family doctors”, is an invitation to identify those crucial lessons learnt and reflect on the key structural blocks of our future, such as the primary care teams, the patients, new technologies and our global community. 
 
We would like to invite our Member Organizations and the global community of family doctors to come together and celebrate the day in recognition of the central role of family doctors in strengthening health systems. To facilitate the planning of activities at a national or local level, we are preparing a campaign with a media kit, which will be launched one month before the World Family Doctor Day, on 19 April. The campaign will contain key umbrella messages that can be tailored to your advocacy efforts, as well as a media kit with material that can be personalised and used in your communications.  
 
We invite you to check our website on 19 April for the official launch of the campaign material. We would also like to receive reports from your activities and advocacy efforts so that we can share them on the related Facebook page and feature some highlights in future editions of WONCA News.
 
Mark your calendars and stay safe. 

Dr Harris Lygidakis
WONCA CEO

#WorldFamilyDoctorDay #WFDD2021