4 minute read
YDM NEWS
by WONCA
F E A T U R E D S T O R I E S
FEATURED STORIES
ASTANA DECLARATION
ANNIVERSARY
An important International Conference on PrimaryHealthCarewasheldin,backthen,AlmaAta, Kazakhstan, in 1978, bringing together health experts and world leaders. The Alma-Ata Declaration was adopted at this conference, which urged signatories to incorporate the concept of primary health care in their health systemstoprotectandpromote"healthofall" . Forty years later, the Global Conference on Primary Health Care in Astana, Kazakhstan, in October 2018, endorsed a new declaration reiterating the critical role of primary health care worldwide. The declaration aimed to refocus efforts on primary health care to ensure the highest possible attainable standard of health for everyone, everywhere. WONCA was also present at the Global Conference on Primary Health Care inAstanaasoneoftheprimarystakeholders. On the occasion of the 4th Anniversary of the Astana Declaration, the WONCA Young Doctors’ Movements (YDM), in collaboration with the Junior Doctors’ Network (JDN) of the World Medical Association- WMA and young doctors of African Forum for Primary Health Care (AfroPHC) to launch a social media campaign to raise awareness on this international declaration and increase the young doctors' commitment to strengthen primary health care through their action. Acknowledging its importance, WONCA extended the social media campaign to all its members by introducing a commemorative ‘Astana Anniversary profile picture frame’ for socialmediausers.
F E A T U R E D S T O R I E S
ASTANA DECLARATION
ANNIVERSARY
The social media campaign by the WONCA YDM and all collaborating organisations ran from the 20th until the 26th of October when the original Astana Declaration was launched. The WONCA YDM promoted the campaign with three publications per day on Facebook for one week, with young doctors from all seven WONCA regional YDMs reflecting on progress and challenges in different countries, sharing the perspectives of WONCA YDM and showing their strong determination to achieve universal health coveragethroughfosteringprimarycare. WONCA's official Facebook page, official Twitter handle and official LinkedIn account contributed to the campaign, furthering its reach. Similarly, WMA JDN and AfroPHC joined the campaign via their social media platforms. All the organisations involved used the hashtags #Astana4PHC #youngdoctors4Astanatopromotethecampaign. The Astana Declaration Anniversary campaign represents a successful effort, with extended reach and post engagements in social media platforms related to WONCA, WMA JDN and AfroPHC,reflectingtheyoungdoctors’willingness to commit to primary health care towards a promisingfuture.
DR SANKHA RANDENIKUMARA
Y O U N G D O C T O R S ’ R E P R E S E N T A T I V E O F W O N C A
FEATURED STORIES
Y O U N G D O C T O R S ; M O V E M E N T S
THE SPICE ROUTE CELEBRATES WORLD DIABETES DAY
Diabetes Mellitus has always been one of the biggestconcernsamonghealthcareprofessionals, with millions of people requiring ongoing care and support to manage their condition and avoid complications. According to the International Diabetes Federation, approximately 537 million adults globally are living with Diabetes Mellitus, with greater prevalence among the South Asian population. A considerable part of this population does not have access to Diabetes care. For that reason, stakeholders must act promptly to provide better access to medicine, technologies and support to these people. Also, Governments should invest in Diabetes care, prevention, and screeningtomanagethisglobalhealthconcern.
Given the above statistics, the Spice Route Movement, the Young Doctor Movement of WONCA South Asia, virtually celebrated World Diabetes Day on November 14th with a webinar, part of the regular series of the Spice Route MovementCPDprogram. The session, with the theme “Access to Diabetes Care” , was hosted by the Spice Route team Pakistan, with the participation of young doctors from multiple regions, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. During the session, moderated by Dr Wajeeha Noorulain from Pakistan, Dr Krithika Ganesh from India presented on the topic “Role of Family Physicians in Diabetes Care” , followed by Dr Sharmeen Shiraz from Sri Lanka with the theme “Health Education and Diabetes Management” . The third speaker was Dr Hina Jawaid from Pakistan, who presented on “Diabetes and Insulin Management:APrimarycareperspective. ”
The speakers focused on the rising number of people affected by Diabetes, setting an added strain on the healthcare systems. Speakers highlighted that among all the health care professionals, the role of a Family Physician is crucial in the early detection, diagnosis, management, and prevention of the condition. A Primary care physician can provide early and the best possible care to people living with Diabetes, in need of access to ongoing education to understandtheirconditionandcarryoutthedaily self-care essential to staying healthy and avoiding complications.Thesessionalsodiscussedtherole of Insulin in managing Diabetes, with the strategies that can help control the condition without possible complications. Presenters also reinforced the need for further activities highlighting the demand for better access to qualityDiabetes.
YDM NEWS
written by:
DR. ZAINAB. M. ANJARWALA
C H A I R : S P I C E R O U T E M O V E M E N T , Y D M W O N C A S O U T H A S I A
