World Organization of Family Doctors - WONCA

03/11/2025

Interested in strengthening your advocacy and public-speaking skills?

Register for the free youth capacity-building workshop on 4 November 2025, where UHC2030, CSEM and IFMSA will provide practical tools and tips to help you harness the power of personal storytelling to influence high-level decision-makers.

The workshop will be available in English, Spanish and French.

🖊️ Register here: https://bit.ly/2025UHCDayYouthWorkshop

16/10/2025

16/10/2025

💡 Got research, ideas, or innovations to share? is calling for abstracts!

We want your contributions on the key topics shaping the future of family medicine and primary care, including:
1️⃣ Primary care innovations
2️⃣ Health systems strengthening
3️⃣ Social determinants of health
4️⃣ Planetary & environmental health
5️⃣ Family-based care interventions
6️⃣ Community-based care interventions
7️⃣ Health equity & social accountability

This is your chance to showcase your work, gain recognition, and inspire colleagues across Asia Pacific and beyond. Submit your abstract by October 17, 2025 and be part of the conversation in Iloilo!

🔗 bit.ly/3UgLmWH

16/10/2025

🌏 Only 2 days left!
Don’t miss your chance to share your research and be part of the WONCA Asia Pacific Regional Conference 2026 — happening in Iloilo City, Philippines 🇵🇭 on March 25–27, 2026!

✨ Submit your abstract, inspire peers, and help shape the future of family medicine and primary care across the Asia-Pacific Region.

🕒 Deadline: October 17, 2025
📍 Theme: Family Physicians Gifted to Give: Hearts that Care for Persons, Family, and Community”
🔗 Submit now: http://www.wonca-apr2026.org/abstract-submission

14/10/2025

Keynote speaker for the WONCA World Rural Helath Conference in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, 10-13 April 2026.

Keynote Speaker Announcement: Professor Dee Mangin

We are honoured to welcome Professor Dee Mangin, global leader in family medicine and primary care research to RuralWONCA26.

Currently based at the University of Otago, Christchurch and McMaster University in Canada, Professor Mangin’s work bridges science, policy, and practice to reimagine care that truly reflects patients’ priorities and lives. Her research spans rational medicine use, deprescribing, and innovative models of primary care — all grounded in advocacy for equitable, person-centred health systems.

Join us in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, as Professor Mangin shares insights from decades of leading-edge work shaping the future of general practice.

Learn more & register: https://zurl.co/xHXwk

13/10/2025

Up to 20% of people with cancer develop blood clots. Cancer-associated thrombosis is a leading cause of death in cancer patients after the cancer itself.

Today on World Thrombosis Day, we urge all primary care workers to be aware of this serious risk

13/10/2025

Since 2014, WONCA’s Accreditation Program has supported healthcare institutions around the world in meeting high standards in family medicine and primary care. With a renewed approach and expanded pathways, the programme now includes:

✅ Postgraduate Training Program Accreditation
✅ Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Accreditation
✅ Practice Accreditation
✅ Assessment of Digital Systems
🆕 Development and Enhancement Program (DEP) – a consultancy model providing expert support to improve services and reach international standards

These pathways offer healthcare organisations a structured route to quality improvement, peer recognition, and global visibility within WONCA’s network of family doctors.

Whether you are looking to strengthen training, improve service delivery, or gain recognition for innovation in digital health, WONCA Accreditation provides practical guidance, expert review, and an international seal of quality in family medicine.

Explore the pathways: accreditation.wonca.com

10/10/2025

The Fellowship of WONCA is our organisation’s highest honour — a distinction reserved for individuals who have made an exceptional and lasting contribution to global family medicine and to the WONCA community itself.

Awarded only every two years, during meetings of the WONCA World Council, the Fellowship recognises those whose work has strengthened our discipline through leadership, mentorship, innovation, and service.

At the WONCA World Conference 2025 in Lisbon, we were proud to celebrate this year’s Fellows:

Dan Abubakar (Nigeria)
Faisal Abdullatif Alnaser (Bahrain)
Jane Namatovu (Uganda)
Victor Ng (Canada)
Anna Stavdal (Norway)
Bruce Chater (Australia)
Adam Windak (Poland)
Evelyn van Weel (Netherlands)
Marina Almenas (Puerto Rico)
Shlomo Vinker (Israel)

Each of them embodies WONCA’s spirit of service and Each of these colleagues reflects WONCA’s enduring mission — to improve the quality of life of people everywhere by advancing family medicine, promoting equity, and fostering personal, comprehensive, and continuing care within every community.

See the full list of all Fellows here:
🔗 https://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/member/awards/WONCAFellowship.aspx

01/10/2025

See you in Cape Town! 🇿🇦

Our next global family gathering, the 26th WONCA World Conference will take place on 3 - 7 November 2024 in Africa.

Hosted by our colleagues in South African Academy of Family Physicians - SAAFP , we know this will be an unforgettable meeting. One rooted in community, resilience, and the values of tolerance and diversity that Cape Town represents.

🗓 3–7 November 2027
📍 Cape Town, South Africa
✨ 26th WONCA World Conference

Here is Prof Bob Mash, Conference Chair, with a special invitation to join us.

Together, we will continue building a healthier future — as one global family of family doctors.

Wonca Africa

25/09/2025

We are proud to announce that Professor Maria Inez Padula Anderson of Brazil has been awarded the 2024–25 Global Five Star Doctor Award.

A family doctor, educator, and advocate based in Brazil, Dr. Padula has spent more than four decades working to strengthen primary health care — especially for people living in poverty and social vulnerability. She helped shape one of the country’s first family medicine residency programmes, led national and regional associations through critical periods of growth, and played a key public role during the COVID-19 pandemic, countering misinformation with evidence-based guidance.

Throughout her career, she has been a thoughtful and persistent voice for health equity, medical education, and community-based care.

We invite you to read the full interview and learn more about her work, her values, and her perspective on the role of family doctors in building more just and compassionate health systems.

👉 https://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/News/GlobalFiveStarDoctor2025.aspx

Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina de Família e Comunidade - SBMFC
Wonca Iberoamericana CIMF
UERJ - Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

23/09/2025

The WONCA World Conference 2025 in Lisbon may be over — but there are other opportunities to gather, learn and celebrate family medicine at our regional and rural conferences.

The EYFDM - European Young Family Doctors Movement also meets annually for EYFDM Forum 2026 which next year will be hosted by Estonia.

Visit the websites for more information on:

WONCA Asia Pacific 2026
https://www.wonca-apr2026.org/

WONCA Europe 2026
https://woncaeurope2026.org/

WONCA Africa 2026
www.woncaafrica2026.org

Rural WONCA 2026
https://www.ruralwonca2026.com/

Stay tuned — more details soon on upcoming conferences in Egypt, Paraguay, and Nepal.

22/09/2025

Thank you, Lisbon!

Our WONCA World Conference 2025 has come to a close but the energy, ideas, and friendships made will carry on.

From the WONCA YDMs Young Doctors Preconference to inspiring keynotes, packed sessions, the Sunrise Walk, and the Gala Dinner, Lisbon was full of unforgettable moments. Relive them in our highlight reel.

Gratidão:
Thank you to our hosts APMGF - Associação Portuguesa de Medicina Geral e Familiar and the Portuguese family medicine community.

Thank you to family doctors who volunteer their time, skills, and passion to share knowledge, organise engaging workshops and symposiums, support colleagues, and shape the future of primary care.

Thank you to our keynotes speakers, exhibitors, partners, and most of all, the thousands of family doctors who joined from around the world.

Stay connected with WONCA and the friends you’ve made by joining a Working Party or Special Interest Group; the heart of our global family.

Stay tuned for information on regional and rural conferences in 2026. Subscribe to WONCA News: http://eepurl.com/hTRufX

And of course…
See you in Cape Town for WONCA World 2027! 🇿🇦