Welcome to our first WONCA News of 2026. In this issue, WONCA President Viviana Martínez-Bianchi reflects on her early years in rural practice, and what rural communities can teach all of us about continuity, teamwork and advocacy. We also share important updates for colleagues planning conference travel, including a scam alert, and new programme information for Rural WONCA 2026 in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand.
You will also find opportunities for learning and connection, including an upcoming WHO Europe and WONCA mini-conference on strengthening mental health services through primary health care, and a new short film Tone of Mind from WONCA’s Music and Mental Health Project. We highlight WONCA’s participation in a new global health commission linked to the United Nations, and we congratulate a newly accredited community health service in Shanghai.
Finally, this newsletter includes regional conference updates and calls to take part, including abstract submissions for WONCA Africa 2026 and early bird registration for WONCA APR 2026 in the Philippines. Thank you, as always, for the work you do in your communities every day.
FROM THE PRESIDENT: Viviana Martinez-Bianchi writes about her early years as a family doctor in rural Iowa, and the communities and colleagues who taught her what continuity, teamwork, and advocacy look like. She brings readers into the daily realities of rural care, from harvest-time urgency and factory injuries to migrant farmworkers moving with the seasons. She shares the story of a phone call from a rural family that stayed with her, a moment many family doctors will recognise, and one that speaks to the privilege of rural practice.
An invitation: Dr Martinez-Bianchi makes the case that rural family medicine is not a niche, it is foundational to our discipline, with billions of people living in rural areas worldwide. She invites colleagues to come together in community, reflection, and shared purpose at Rural WONCA 2026, a meeting focused on the challenges of rural and remote care, and the shared patterns rural doctors recognise across countries and health systems.
Date: 10-13 April 2026. Location: Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. Learn more:ruralwonca2026.com
SCAM ALERT: We have been alerted to a travel booking scam targeting people planning to attend WONCA Conferences, including Rural WONCA 2026 in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand and WONCA APR Conference in Iloilo City, Philippines. Scammers may contact presenters and authors using public programme and abstract information. Watch for unsolicited emails offering flights, hotels, or transfers, claiming to be from “Global Travel Experts/Team” or similar. There are also reports of scammers impersonating WONCA officers requesting payments. Verify all correspondence by checking sender credentials.
RURAL WONCA 2026: The conference programme is now live, and it sets out four days of keynotes, panels, workshops, posters and practical rural learning in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, on 10-13 April 2026. Under the theme Whanau Ora: Integrating Matauranga Maori with rural health for a thriving future, the programme brings together rural clinicians, researchers and health leaders to share what works in remote settings, including equity, workforce and resourcing, and new tools such as virtual care and AI.
Keynotes: A wider speaker line-up now features Hon Simeon Brown, New Zealand’s Minister of Health, Dr Diana Kopua and Mark Kopua (leaders in Indigenous health and healing through Mahi a Atua), and Nathan Fa’avae, a well-known adventure racer and educator speaking on resilience and leadership.
Day trips and tours: The programme is matched by plenty to enjoy beyond the sessions, whether you are travelling solo or bringing family. Social events include a welcome reception at Te Papa, and there is a partners programme with day trips such as a Wellington Harbour outing to Eastbourne. Post-conference tours offer a chance to see more of Aotearoa New Zealand, with travel through regional areas and opportunities to meet local rural medical teams.
SCHOLARSHIP FOR YOUNG DOCTORS: Applications are still open for the Donald Li YDM Global Scholarship, supporting three young doctors from low- and middle-income countries to attend a WONCA regional or rural conference in 2026, including Rural WONCA 2026. Each award is USD $2,500 towards registration, travel, visa costs, and accommodation.
MENTAL HEALTH MINI-CONFERENCE: WHO Regional Office for Europe and WONCA will host an online mini-conference on 25-26 February 2026, focused on scaling up mental health services within a primary health care approach. The programme builds on the 2025 WHO policy paper on mental health in primary care, with sessions on prevention and early identification, service redesign, workforce training, financing, and the responsible use of digital tools and AI.
Speakers from WONCA will include Prof Christos Lionis and Prof Chris Dowrick (WONCA Working Party on Mental Health), Viviana Martinez-Bianchi MD (WONCA President), Kim Yu MD (WONCA Liaison to WHO), and Dr Ana Luisa Neves (WONCA Working Party on Digital Health).
MUSIC AND MENTAL HEALTH FILM: Thank you to everyone who joined the online premiere of Tone of Mind, a new 15-minute documentary from WONCA’s Music and Mental Health Project, led by Dr Alfredo de Oliveira Neto (Brazil) and the WONCA Working Party on Mental Health. The film brings together stories from Brazil, South Africa, India and Australia, showing how music can support mental wellbeing, connection and care across cultures.
As WONCA President Dr Viviana Martinez-Bianchi reflected during the launch: “Some of the most powerful innovations in healthcare are not technical. They are human, rooted in listening, connection and art.”
You can watch the film and launch event with remarks from WONCA President, President-elect, filmmakers and musicians here, and please share the film widely with those interested in music as healing in primary care.
GLOBAL HEALTH COMMISSION MEETING: The inaugural meeting of the Global Commission for 21st Century Healthcare took place online on Monday, 15 December 2025, as an official side event of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) linked to the United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting. WONCA was represented by its President, Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, who brought the perspective of family doctors and primary care teams into the discussion.
Convened by Health Parliament, the Commission brought together leaders from WHO, nursing, pharmacy, health economics, medical informatics and public health, including contributors connected to WHO and the OECD, to consider how health systems can become more equitable, proactive, digitally enabled, and people and community-centred.
SHANGHAI ACCREDITATION: WONCA congratulates the Xidu Subdistrict Community Health Service Centre in Fengxian District, Shanghai, on receiving WONCA Practice Accreditation. The certificate was formally presented at a local ceremony on 19 December, marking an important step in strengthening primary care services in the district and demonstrating a commitment to international standards in community health.
Congratulations: WONCA CEO Dr Harris Lygidakis sent congratulations via video, and WONCA was represented at the ceremony by Professor Zhu Shanzhu, a WONCA Five Star Doctor, who presented the certificate. Dr Donald Li, Past President of WONCA, also shared a message of support, noting the value of accreditation in strengthening quality improvement and leadership in primary care.
WONCA Accreditation supports primary care organisations to benchmark and improve quality, safety and patient-centred care, using standards developed by our international experts. Learn more about the renewed programme and updated website here.
AMERICAS WORKFORCE STUDY: A new paper on how family and community medicine is trained and practised across the Americas was published in December. A collaboration between the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and WONCA, this 2024 cross-sectional survey across 23 countries maps how family and community medicine is trained and practised. It finds gaps in continuing education and in policies for wellbeing and retention, alongside heavy workloads and insecure posts. The authors, including WONCA President Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, CIMF past president Jaqueline Ponzo, and Bob Phillips from the American Board of Family Medicine, call for strategic investment in recognition, working conditions and education quality.
AFRICA – SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACTS: The Botswana Association of Family Physicians invites you to submit your abstract for the 9th WONCA African Region Conference. The meeting takes place in Gaborone, on 10 and 11 September 2026, with pre-conference activities (including a PRIMAFAMED meeting) on 9 September. The theme of the conference is We Are One: Africa United to advance planetary health through collaboration and resource alignment in primary health care.
À l’attention de l’Afrique francophone: Les délégués francophones seront pleinement accompagnés pendant la conférence. Une traduction en français sera disponible tout au long de l’événement, et le programme sera proposé en français. Les participants pourront soumettre leurs résumés en français, présenter des posters en français et faire des présentations orales en français. Une assistance dédiée sera assurée sur place, avec le soutien d’organisateurs et d’assistants francophones, afin de faciliter l’accueil, l’orientation et la participation.
Creating the evidence for family medicine advocacy in Africa: Family medicine in Africa has huge room to grow, but we need stronger, Africa-based research that shows what family physicians contribute, where they add the most value, and why they are worth sustained investment. Much of the global evidence comes from high-income settings with different models of care, while African studies are still limited in number and often concentrated in a few countries. If we want family medicine to be taken more seriously across the continent, we need to build the evidence ourselves.
African Journal of Primary Care and Family Medicine:phcfm.org
ASIA PACIFIC – EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION CLOSING SOON: Excitement is building for our first regional meeting of the year. WONCA’s Asia Pacific Region (APR) Conference will take place in Iloilo City, Philippines, 25 – 27 March, hosted by the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians. This is your last chance to benefit from an early bird discount.
Early Bird Deadline: Friday, 16 January 2026. Register: wonca-apr2026.org
Call for bursary support: WONCA-APR 2026 fosters participation of medical students and early-mid career family doctors in the Asia Pacific region to facilitate exchange of medical knowledge and best practices in general practice and family medicine. The bursary program aims to provide financial support to medical students, young family doctors, and family doctors in the Asia Pacific region who may have financial difficulties to attend the conference.
How you can help: The Philippine Academy of Family Physician invites individuals and organizations to contribute any amount. The contribution will provide travel grants as well as cover registration fees and other conference needs of medical students, young family doctors, and family doctors in the Asia Pacific region. Individuals and organizations who are interested in contributing are kindly asked to send an email to [email protected]
EUROPE: As we welcome 2026, the WONCA Europe Conference 2026 team sends its warmest wishes for a joyful, healthy, and inspiring New Year!
We look forward to connecting with you at the WONCA Europe Conference 2026, taking place in Paris from June 30th to July 3rd, 2026. Secure your spot today and register now to be part of this exciting event!
We sincerely thank over 2,000 contributors from more than 80 countries for sharing their abstracts, showcasing the incredible diversity and international collaboration within our community.
EAST MEDITERRANEAN REGION: The WONCA East Mediterranean Region Conference will be held in Cairo, Egypt, from 29 to 31 October 2026.
IBEROAMERICA – CIMF: Equidad, justicia social y salud comunitaria conforman el primer eje temático del IX Congreso Iberoamericano de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria, que se realizará del 22 al 25 de julio de 2026 en Asunción, Paraguay.
Este eje invita a reflexionar sobre los desafíos y avances de la Atención Primaria y la cobertura universal, la salud de pueblos originarios y poblaciones en situación de vulnerabilidad, la interculturalidad, la perspectiva de género, la diversidad, la inclusión, así como la participación comunitaria, el liderazgo social y el empoderamiento en salud.
Desde la Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria, este espacio promueve el compromiso con sistemas de salud más justos, humanos y centrados en las personas, las comunidades y el planeta.
Bye for now,
Diarmuid Hayes
Senior Communications Officer [email protected]
