This week’s newsletter focuses on advocacy in practice, how family doctors shape health systems every day, locally and globally. In her February message, WONCA President Prof Viviana Martínez-Bianchi MD reflects on advocacy as part of daily clinical work and a core responsibility of our organisation.
That theme runs through much of this issue. You will find updates from the 158th WHO Executive Board meeting, where WONCA is calling for sustained investment in primary care and the family medicine workforce, alongside news that ICPC-3 will become openly licensed, a practical step to strengthen equity and the visibility of primary care in digital health systems.
We also invite you to take part in two surveys aimed at building advocacy capacity across WONCA, share opportunities to connect through upcoming conferences and webinars.
We share a video from Nepal, a featured young doctor from Mexico and information on webinars on mental health in primary care, diabetes care during Ramadan, patient safety for newborns and children, global cataract care, antimicrobial resistance, circulatory health, rural health workforce development, and digital health in everyday practice.
Finally, we renew our call for solidarity with colleagues working under unimaginable conditions in Gaza.
FROM THE PRESIDENT: In her February message, WONCA President Prof Viviana Martínez-Bianchi MD reflects on advocacy as a core part of family medicine, from everyday clinical practice to global policy engagement. She highlights WONCA’s work at the WHO Executive Board, new global surveys to strengthen advocacy capacity, and the decision to make ICPC-3 openly licensed as an equity and advocacy action that reinforces the place of primary care in health systems and digital health.
From the President: Advocacy, Evidence, and Opening Doors for Primary Care
WONCA AT WHO EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING: This week, WONCA is taking part in the 158th session of the WHO Executive Board (EB158), meeting in Geneva from 2–7 February 2026. As a non-State actor in official relations with WHO, WONCA brings the perspective of family doctors into global health decision-making through formal statements and engagement with WHO and Member State delegations. The WONCA delegation is led by Kim Yu MD, WONCA–WHO Liaison.
Keeping Family Medicine on the Agenda: At EB158, WONCA is calling for sustained investment in primary care and the family medicine workforce, strong training and retention, and protection of continuity and person-centred care as digital health and AI expand. In his opening address, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted workforce shortages, uneven progress on UHC, and financial pressures on health systems, reinforcing the need for strong, accessible primary health care close to communities.
OPEN ACCESS PRIMARY CARE CLASSIFICATION: WONCA has announced that ICPC-3, the International Classification of Primary Care (Third Edition), will become openly licensed under a Creative Commons licence. This is a significant step for family medicine, opening wider access to a clinical classification designed by and for primary care.
Why ICPC matters to family medicine: ICPC-3 is used by family doctors to record patients’ reasons for encounter, symptoms, diagnoses and care processes in a way that reflects the reality of general practice. Unlike hospital-based classifications, it supports continuity of care, episode-based thinking, and a person-centred approach across time. It has been a core professional tool in many countries for decades and a distinctive contribution of family medicine to global health information systems.
By making ICPC-3 openly available, WONCA and the WONCA International Classification Committee (WICC) aim to remove barriers to use, and strengthen how primary care is represented in digital health systems worldwide.
BUILDING WONCA’S ADVOCACY POTENTIAL: The WONCA Special Interest Group (SIG) on Policy Advocacy is delighted that their project to extend members’ opportunities and skills is now able to start its first phase. They have shared a survey with all WONCA member organisations, Working Parties and SIGs to find out what advocacy material is readily available, and what else is needed to help build the case for stronger family medicine. The resulting collection of policy documents will be made available online to all WONCA members. Read more: Building WONCA’s advocacy potential.
Your chance to help, and benefit: The SIG on Policy Advocacy are also inviting the wider WONCA community to reply to the survey, and provide any document you may have created or used to advocate for family medicine.
SECOND SURVEY: At the same time, our valued colleagues from the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto are creating a continuing professional development (CPD) program to enable family physicians and primary care experts to more effectively advocate and shape policy for high-quality primary care and family medicine. They invite all primary care and family medicine colleagues with experience and expertise in this area to complete a needs assessment survey (approx 15 minutes) that will inform the CPD program.
SUPPORT GAZA’S HEALTH WORKERS WITH A DONATION: Advocacy also means standing with colleagues whose ability to provide care is under threat. Across Gaza, doctors and health workers continue to care for their patients in conditions most of us can barely comprehend. Hospitals and clinics have been destroyed. Medicines are scarce. Clean water and electricity are unreliable or gone. Many health workers are displaced. Many have lost family. Some have been killed. And still, care continues.
These are our colleagues. They are doing what all of us in medicine try to do: protect life, ease suffering, stand by our communities. But they are doing it under siege, without safety, and with none of the resources many of us take for granted. One Palestinian doctor in the West Bank, after speaking with colleagues in Gaza, put it simply:
“They teach us what it means to care for patients. They are the best of us.”
A ceasefire agreement is in place – a shift that brings hope, but remains fragile. WONCA has condemned the destruction of health facilities, the killing of health workers, and the blocking of humanitarian supplies. Denying people food, clean water, or medical care is a violation of international humanitarian law. It is also a violation of everything our profession stands for.
WONCA is supporting two fundraising efforts to aid the humanitarian response:
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): Their Gaza Emergency Regional Fund supports emergency surgeries, trauma care, maternal health, and psychological support delivered by MSF (also known as Doctors Without Borders) and Palestinian teams.
Oxfam: Working with local partners, Oxfam is delivering clean water, repairing damaged sanitation systems, and supporting displaced families with hygiene, legal, and psychosocial care.
Our colleagues are doing everything they can to save lives. We must do everything we can to support them. We are inviting our Member Organisations and individual colleagues to take part in this effort.
WHO–WONCA MENTAL HEALTH MINI-CONFERENCE: WONCA and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe will host an online mini-conference on Mental Health and Primary Care on 25-26 February 2026.
Scaling up mental health services within the PHC approach: The programme builds on the 2025 WHO policy paper on mental health and primary care and moves the discussion from policy to practice. Topics will include early identification and prevention, workforce training, sustainable financing, and the careful use of digital tools and AI in primary care. Registration is free.
Date: 25-26 February 2026. Programme available here. Register here.
TODAY IS WORLD CANCER DAY: This year’s theme “United by Unique” emphasises that while the goal of better cancer care is shared, each patient’s experience is unique, shaped by medical, emotional, and social realities. Family doctors play a vital role as the first point of care — early detection, compassionate support, and guiding patients through every stage of cancer care. The Spice Route (Young Doctors’ Movement of the South Asia Region), led by colleagues in Nepal, have produced a short video to mark the day.
NAME CHANGE: The WONCA Executive Committee has approved the renaming of the Working Party on eHealth to the Working Party on Digital Health. The change reflects how the field has evolved and aligns WONCA with the language now used across global health policy, research and practice. It also responds to strong feedback from members and past leaders that digital health better captures the scope of the group’s work, from clinical systems to data, AI and patient-centred innovation in primary care.
IX CONGRESO IBEROAMERICANO DE MEDICINA FAMILIAR Y COMUNITARIA: The official website of the 9th Iberoamerican Conference on Family and Community Medicine is now live. The conference will take place in Asunción, Paraguay, from 22–25 July 2026, bringing together the Iberoamerican family medicine community for learning, exchange and connection.
WHAT IF THE EUROPE CONFERENCE STARTED A LITTLE EARLIER? On 29–30 June 2026, the European Young Family Doctors’ Movement (EYFDM) will host a two-day pre-conference for GP residents and early-career family doctors. Titled Anatomy of a GP – What makes up an ideal GP?, the programme offers interactive workshops, plenary sessions and space to connect with peers from across Europe.
WONCA EUROPE 2026 CONFERENCE: The main conference runs from 1–3 July 2026 in Paris, bringing together family doctors from across Europe and beyond. With more than 200 sessions, the programme includes keynotes, workshops, lectures, case studies and practice-based reflections, with a strong focus on real-world skills and shared challenges in general practice.
FEATURED DOCTOR: Dr Lytzalaura Chávez Quezada, a family doctor from Monterrey, Mexico, was one of three winners of the Taiwan Family Medicine Research Award, awarded at the WONCA World Conference in Lisbon. In her first year of practice, she combines clinical work with research on family-oriented care and active involvement in Waynakay (YDM for Iberoamerica region). Curious, committed and community-minded, she brings warmth, teamwork and a strong biopsychosocial lens to everything she does.
DIABETES IN RAMADAN: The Kuwait Association of Family Medicine and General Practitioners and the Gulf Association of Family Medicine, in collaboration with the Al Razi Group – Young Doctors’ Movement, are hosting a virtual webinar on the IDF-DAR guidelines for diabetes care during Ramadan. The session is CME accredited by KIMS.
Date: Wednesday, 4 February 2026. Time: 16:00–18:00 UTC. Register here.
PATIENT SAFETY: WHO, the International Pediatric Association and the Child Health Task Force are launching a five-part global webinar series on implementing the World Patient Safety Day Goals for safe care for every newborn and every child. The first session will focus on engaging children, parents and families to improve safety and reduce avoidable harm in newborn and child care.
Date: Friday, 6 February 2026. Time: 14:00–15:30 CET (13:00–14:30 UTC) Register here.
GLOBAL CATARACT CARE: WHO will host a webinar on new global data on cataract surgery coverage and updated technical guidance to support countries in meeting the World Health Assembly target for effective cataract surgery by 2030. Cataract is the leading cause of blindness worldwide, affecting over 94 million people. The session will present new findings published in The Lancet Global Health and launch WHO’s recommendations on quality of care in cataract surgery.
ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE: WONCA is supporting this webinar organised with our partners in the World Patients Alliance (WPA), focusing on what patients and healthcare providers can do to address antimicrobial resistance. The session will look at patient safety, responsible antibiotic use and practical actions to strengthen stewardship and awareness.
Date: Wednesday, 18 February 2026. Time: 09:00 EST (14:00 UTC) Register here.
CIRCULATORY HEALTH: Join the Global Coalition for Circulatory Health for an online discussion on turning the 2025 UN Political Declaration on NCDs into practical action for circulatory health. WONCA will be represented by Kim Yu MD (USA). Moderated by Bente Mikkelsen (World Heart Federation).
Date: Tuesday, 24 February 2026. Time: 14:00-15:30 UTC. Register here
RURAL HEALTH WORKFORCE: The second webinar in the lead-up to the WONCA World Rural Health Conference will focus on building and sustaining the rural health workforce. The session will explore recruitment, training and retention, with attention to leadership development, interprofessional education and community engagement. A recording of the first webinar in the series, Innovation and Technology Transforming Rural Health Care Delivery, is available online.
