Newsletter: April 2020

As I write this I wonder if the way we work has now changed forever. As the threat and spread of COVID-19 continues its path, disrupting lives everywhere, no-one can be sure what our world will look like afterwards. As a new disease, it is impossible for the scientists and public health specialists to accurately project the trajectory

Mientras estoy escribiendo estas líneas me pregunto si nuestra forma de trabajar ya ha cambiado para siempre. Mientras la amenaza y la rápida propagación de la #COVID19 continúa su camino, interrumpiendo y modificando vidas en todo el mundo, nadie puede estar seguro de cómo será nuestro mundo tras el virus.

Au moment où j'écris ces lignes, je me demande si notre façon de travailler a changé à jamais. Alors que la menace et la propagation du COVID-19 continuent leur chemin, perturbant la vie partout, personne ne peut être sûr de ce à quoi notre monde ressemblera par la suite

随着COVID - 19 的威胁继续蔓延全球，影响了各地人民的生活，没有人可以预知世界将会变成什么的模样。我执笔之时正思考着 : 我们故有的工作模式是否需永远改变 ? 科学家和公共卫生专家往往只能靠当前最新的证据，更新疾病的资料，未能就新疾病的轨迹作百分百精准的预测。我们的工作方式越来越依赖利用全球数据所进行的实时分析。

This month I want to highlight World Family Doctor Day, which will take place on 19th May, and also to provide an update on WONCA conferences and other events.

Two of our Working Party chairs, Chris Dowrick and John Wynn-Jones are leading the way in encouraging colleagues to say what they are finding helpful in these troubling times dominated by the Coronavirus pandemic.

It with great sadness that we announce the death of one of my predecessors as WONCA President, Professor Michael Boland of Ireland. Michael was a true visionary, and an inspirational leader in family medicine, as witnessed by the many tributes already paid to him. Professor Michael Kidd, also a former WONCA President, pays formal tribute to Michael Boland.

WHO has developed numerous resources on COVID-19. An indicative list follows: research database; technical documents and a training course.

Nos unimos al esfuerzo mundial para disminuir la posibilidad de expansión del virus y APLAZAMOS las fechas de realización de la VIII Cumbre Iberoamericana de Medicina Familiar, el II Congreso Mesoamericano de Medicina Familiar/Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria.

Rural WONCA executive has met and decided that the conference must go on – but virtually. After much consideration, the Executive have decided that with COVID-19 spreading rapidly, it is not sensible or prudent to have a physical gathering of rural doctors in Dhaka. Doctors are needed by their rural communities now more than ever.

It is with regret that the Board of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners has today announced the postponement of WONCA NZ 2020 based on the uncertainty around COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

Two of our Working Party chairs, Chris Dowrick and John Wynn-Jones are leading the way in encouraging colleagues to say what they are finding helpful in these troubling times dominated by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Prof Val Wass, Chair WONCA Working Party on Education writes on the latest open access items in Education for Primary Care. We are pleased to announce that the March issue 31:2 is now on line. This issue shares global experience of primary care very much linked with WONCA. It emphasises how we learn from each other.

From 24-26 February 2020, 73 global experts from 45 countries met at WHO Geneva to define the activities that WHO will pursue in its action plan for patient safety in the decade 2020-2030.

Rural WONCA executive has met and decided that the conference must go on – but virtually. After much consideration, the Executive have decided that with COVID-19 spreading rapidly, it is not sensible or prudent to have a physical gathering of rural doctors in Dhaka. Doctors are needed by their rural communities now more than ever.

Nos unimos al esfuerzo mundial para disminuir la posibilidad de expansión del virus y APLAZAMOS las fechas de realización de la VIII Cumbre Iberoamericana de Medicina Familiar, el II Congreso Mesoamericano de Medicina Familiar/Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria.

Prof Val Wass, Chair WONCA Working Party on Education writes on the latest open access items in Education for Primary Care. We are pleased to announce that the March issue 31:2 is now on line. This issue shares global experience of primary care very much linked with WONCA. It emphasises how we learn from each other.

WHO has developed numerous resources on COVID-19. An indicative list follows: research database; technical documents and a training course.