World Family Doctor Day (WFDD) was celebrated on the 19th May. Here are the contributions we received from some of our Member Organisations on how they spent the day.
Greece
ELEGEIA (the Greek Association of General Practitioners) took the initiative to organise an informative as well as interactive event for all citizens in Tripoli. The event took place in the Petrinou Square one of the most central spots in Tripoli.
GP’s attending the event, wearing T-shirts with the logos of ELEGEIA and the World Family Doctor Day, distributed a total of 2,000 leaflets to people passing by and informed them thoroughly concerning the role and importance of Family Medicine in Health Systems, while at the same time interacting and answering any questions asked by the people. The event was a big success in the sense that the Greek public responded by showing a high level of interest, appreciating our efforts towards the future of Family Medicine and acknowledging the tremendous impact which it entails in their lives.
Portugal
The World Family Doctor Day 2019 celebration in Portugal included more than 500 family doctors and Family Medicine residents and thousands of their patients, across all regions of the country.
The motto chosen for this year was “Family Doctor, the closest one to you” and in many places the organised groups set up interactive activities such as community walks, health fairs, awareness sessions or public dance/gymnastic classes. All of the activities were developed with the help of local authorities and community services and the logistics support of the Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine (APMGF), which provided health information flyers and leaflets to the teams, as well as WFDD merchandising materials, such as balloons, stickers, caps and t-shirts.
Prior to the WFDD 2019, APMGF also launched a campaign called “Family Doctor, the closest one to you”, to find and reveal the most valuable local projects carried out by family doctors that increase the strong bond between primary healthcare teams and their communities. Three particular projects (one in the Lisbon area, one in the northern part of the country and another one in the Azores Islands) were singled out by APMGF as the most relevant, tackling areas such as healthy lifestyle choices, informal caregivers training and integrated home support services.
Romania
For the first time in Romania, the annual conference of family doctors took place place this year on World Family Doctor Day.
Primary medicine professionals gathered together to celebrate by sharing their experience, knowledge, and joy of life. In Romania, family medicine is a stand-alone specialty. 21.5% of Romanian doctors are family doctors. Family medicine is the human interface of the medical system with the patients. In total, there are 6,700 cabinets in urban and 4,600 cabinets in rural areas. The total number of patients on the lists of family doctors is the population of the country. Family medicine prevents, treats, provides health and social care.
In Romania, Family Medicine is the front line, and the practitioners, feel proud of their profession.
Submitted by the Romanian National Society of Family Medicine
Tajikistan
In Dushanbe, Tajikistan, an event to mark World Family Doctor Day was hosted by the Republican Training and Clinical Center of Family Medicine (RCCFM) under the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Population of the Republic of Tajikistan (MoHSP in RT).
The event was opened by Ilhom Bandaev, the director of the RCCFM, in the presence of Dilorom Sadukova from the MoHSP in RT. To promote the importance of family medicine, and the role of family doctors and nurses, several information stands were set up, where visitors and medical and nursing students could browse through brochures and leaflets on topics related to family medicine, and look at the range of equipment used by family doctors and ask questions.
There was a short presentation for the medical students on the work of family doctors by Zukhra Hojimatova, followed by a quiz and a tour of the RCCFM. The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute which implements the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation’s “Medical Education Reform Project” was involved in the preparation of the event, in collaboration with the RCCFM, providing the information stands with brochures and leaflets, and contributed audio visual films and illustrations for the presentations. For more information see our video:
Thank you for sharing your 2019 World Family Doctor Day activities with us!
Cover image: Freepik.com