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WONCA Working Party on the Environment: Planetary Health in South America
In August’s WONCA News we included a report from Ralph Guggenheim about using WONCA conferences to promote the issue of planetary health, and he reported on his experiences at WONCA Europe in Prague. Now Paola Rava Dellepiane, WONCA Working Party on the Environment member, writes more on this issue, and describes her experiences at the WONCA Iberoamericana-CIMF Conference, in Lima, Perú, from 17th to 20th August, 2017. The article also refers to WONCA’s Policy Statement on Planetary Health, which was endorsed by WONCA Executive at its April 2017 meeting.
WONCA and One Health
Remaining on an environmental theme, a reminder that WONCA is a partner with the One Health Initiative. One Health is the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, plants and our environment. We’re proud to be one of a long and prestigious list of supporters, and encourage anyone with an interest in health and the environment to access their website for further information.
“Between animal and human medicine there are no dividing lines--nor should there be. The object is different but the experience obtained constitutes the basis of all medicine.”
Rudolf Virchow, MD (the father of cellular pathology)
Education for Primary Care (EPC) – free access article on health promotion in medical education
Professor Val Wass, Chair of WONCA’s Working Party on Education and Editor of EPC, has informed us that this month there is free access to an important article in EPC on “Health promotion in medical education: lessons from a major undergraduate curriculum implementation” by Ann Wylie and Kathleen Leedham-Green. The article can be freely accessed at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14739879.2017.1311776
WONCA Rural Health Conference April 2018 – Abstract deadline 31st December
A further reminder that the 15th WONCA Rural Health conference will take place in New Delhi, India, from 26th to 29th April 2018. Registration and abstract submission are both now open, but please note that the last date for abstract submission is 31st December. We especially encourage young doctors and medical students to join this event, which is also open to NGOs, nurses and other health professionals.
WONCA Featured Doctor – Dr Anwar AlNajjar (Kuwait)
This month one of WONCA’s Featured Doctors is Dr Anwar AlNajjar of Kuwait, who is President of the WONCA Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) conference to be held in Kuwait from 1st to 3rd March 2018. She is a Family Medicine Consultant working in a Primary Health Center (PHC) and is also the Director of the General Practitioner Training Program which is newly established in Kuwait to be parallel to Family Medicine Residency Program (FMRP). This program is ensuring higher standards of general practitioners working in PHC and to promote the services provided by them.
She is a trainer and examiner in the Family Medicine Residency Program (FMRP) that is part of Faculty of Primary Care and is also assistant exam convener of the simulated surgery exam in the program. Read more of her story at: http://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/member/WoncaPeople/ALNAJJARDrAnwar.aspx