Newsletter: February 2019

WONCA is a big family: fellow members from different places of the world celebrate their New Year’s Day at different times. As a home-grown Chinese from Hong Kong, Lunar New Year (or Chinese New Year) is always my favourite festival.

WONCA est une grande famille: nos confrères et consœurs de différents endroits du monde fêtent le Jour de l’An à des dates différentes. En tant qu’autochtone de Hong Kong, mon festival préféré est celui de la nouvelle année lunaire (ou Nouvel An chinois).

在WONCA这大家庭，来自世界各地的成员每年于不同的日子庆祝新年。像其他在香港土生土长的中国人，农历新年（中国新年）一直是我至爱的节日。 元旦通常是在每年的一月底或二月初，那天我们都抛开繁琐的工作、业务及应酬，与家人好友共渡佳节。我们纷纷待在家享受一个接一个的聚会、品尝必备的传统美食。农历新年给我的印象总是渗满了萝卜禚的香气及姜汤糯米丸子的味道。

La WONCA es una gran familia: miembros y amigos de todos los sitios del mundo celebran su Fin de Año en momentos muy distintos. Dado que yo he crecido dentro de la cultura china de Hong-Kong, para mi, el Año Nuevo Lunar (popularmente conocido como el Año Nuevo Chino) siempre ha sido mi festividad favorita.

This month I thought it would be timely to write on WONCA and its ever-closer relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO). The big news, of course, is the MOU which has just been signed between WONCA and WHO – featured elsewhere in this newsletter.

WONCA主席李国楝医生和世界卫生组织总干事谭德塞博士(Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus) 代表两个组织签署了谅解备忘录，反映了家庭医学在实现全民醫療覆盖目标方面所发挥的关键作用。这份谅解备忘录筑起了一道我们期待已久的桥梁，让WONCA各成员及成员组织与世卫组织作更紧密的合作。

El Presidente de la WONCA, Dondal Li, y el Director General de la Organización Mundial de la Salud, el Doctor Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus han firmado un memorándum de entendimiento (Memorandum of Understanding, MOU) en nombre de ambas organizaciones, reflejando el rol crucial que juega la Medicina de Familia a la hora de conseguir el objetivo de la Cobertura Universal de Salud.

WONCA President, Donald Li, and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO sign a Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of both organisations, reflecting the crucial role played by family medicine in achieving the goal of Universal Health Coverage. The MOU offers all our members and Member Organisations an official entry point to build even closer collaboration with WHO colleagues globally.

Adrián Castellote, from Spain, is not like any other family doctor, he is an adventurer, an explorer, and his resumé proves it. Here, semFYC, the Spanish organisation for Family Doctors interviews Adrián as he prepares for an expedition to Antarctica.

Dr Pratyush Kumar, WONCA executive, member at large, and chair of WONCA Rural South Asia is happy to share with you all his Geriatric Health Calendar 2019. Pratyush has created other health calendars in previous years but this year’s focus is on geriatric issues.

Dr Peter Makara is Host Organizing Committee Chair for the WONCA Europe conference coming to the Slovak Republic in June 2019. He is President of the Slovak Society of General Practice. Here he is interviewed about the situation in his country.

The sixth regional WONCA East Mediterranean region conference will be held from March 21- 23, 2019 in the Phoenicia Hotel, Beirut Lebanon. It will be hosted by the Lebanese Society of Family Medicine.

Prof Nobu Ban, HOC chair for WONCA Asia Pacific region conference coming to Kyoto in May, reviews several Japanese dishes which are ordinary, everyday, tasteful ones you should try when you come to Kyoto.

Call for abstracts has been extended but still only few days left to submit and be part of the WONCA Europe 2019 Conference scientific programme. Don't miss this opportunity! Abstract Submission Deadline: February 7, 2019

With this conference, we hope to bring together providers, educators and researchers in the pursuit of improving health care for all rural populations across the globe. Expand your knowledge of rural health best practices and engage with clinicians, educators, and health researchers from around the world in the Land of Enchantment.

A/Prof Victoria Tkachenko, from Kiev, in Ukraine, writes on the new wave of reformation in primary health in her country. The implementation of family medicine in Ukraine started in 1986-1987. Many positive interventions have been introduced since then, but the results have been insufficient.

We announce our call for applications for the Air Health Train the Trainer Program. This program is run by WONCA through the Working Party on the Environment, which aims to increase awareness among family doctors and other primary healthcare practitioners in Lower and Middle Income countries about the health risks of exposure to air pollution,

Maria van den Muijsenbergh, Chair of the WONCA Special Interest Group on Migrant Care, International Health and Travel Medicine, introduces the new chair Guus Busser.

Dr Peter Makara is Host Organizing Committee Chair for the WONCA Europe conference coming to the Slovak Republic in June 2019. He is President of the Slovak Society of General Practice. Here he is interviewed about the situation in his country.

The sixth regional WONCA East Mediterranean region conference will be held from March 21- 23, 2019 in the Phoenicia Hotel, Beirut Lebanon. It will be hosted by the Lebanese Society of Family Medicine.

Prof Nobu Ban, HOC chair for WONCA Asia Pacific region conference coming to Kyoto in May, reviews several Japanese dishes which are ordinary, everyday, tasteful ones you should try when you come to Kyoto.

Call for abstracts has been extended but still only few days left to submit and be part of the WONCA Europe 2019 Conference scientific programme. Don't miss this opportunity! Abstract Submission Deadline: February 7, 2019

Gems added this month; Goodfellow Gems are chosen by the Goodfellow Unit director Dr Bruce Arroll to be either practice changing or practice maintaining. The information is educational and not clinical advice. ©The Goodfellow Unit (New Zealand). With permission, WONCA adds links to a number of these to our website.