WONCA Executive members at the WHO | October 2022

WONCA President, Dr Anna Stavdal, WONCA CEO, Harris Lygidakis, and Professor Val Wass, Executive Member-at-Large and WHO Liaison, led key meetings with representatives of the World Health Organization at the organisation’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

In a short but fruitful stay in the Swiss city, President Stavdal began her agenda meeting Dr Bente Mikkelsen, director of the division of Noncommunicable Diseases of the WHO. Also present at the meeting were Dr Temo Waganivalu, and Dr Slim Slama, unit leaders at the NCDs Department at the WHO.



During the meeting, Dr Stavdal highlighted the mission of WONCA and the crucial role of family doctors and Primary Care professionals in global advocacy to improve the lives of people with NCDs.  

WONCA representatives also met with Prof Bettina Borisch, Executive Director of the World Federation of Public Health Associations, and Hoi Shan Fokeladeh, Policy Advisor at the International Council of Nurses (ICN), to brainstorm upcoming efforts to promote and advocate for universal health.



On the second day, WONCA Executive members first held a meeting with WHO representatives Dr Denis Porignon (Policy Advisor), Dr Teri Reynolds (Clinical Services and Systems Lead), Dr John Fogarty (Senior Technical Advisor), and Dr Theadora Swift Koller (Senior Technical Advisor in Equity). 



WONCA executives also met with Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health; Heather Adair-Rohani, technical officer on energy and health; and Dr Anshu Banerjee, Director for the Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing of the WHO.