WONCA 2023 kicks off

Fifty years after it was born in Melbourne, WONCA 2023 is finally here.
 
Across a jam-packed four-day schedule, more than 4000 delegates from across the globe will descend on Sydney’s Darling Harbour.
 
Together, they will attend 850 presentations and 216 concurrent sessions, rolled out from more than 700 local and international speakers.
 
Themed, ‘Recovery, reconnection and revival. A celebration of primary care,’ the event is returning for the first time in more than 20 years and promises to be one of the largest ever global GP conferences hosted in Australia.
 
RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins said WONCA represents a rare and exciting opportunity for GPs from across the globe to meet, connect, and network.
 
‘The college will showcase the world-leading practice happening every day right here in Australia,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘We are excited to be hosting hundreds of experts in their fields, who will share their knowledge and ideas, ensuring that general practice is at the centre of healthcare reforms across the globe.
 
‘Australia, like most other countries, is facing population increases, ageing populations, workforce shortages, and a rise in chronic conditions, and at WONCA, GPs, family doctors and primary health practitioners will meet to tackle those key health issues faced by primary care.’
 
Following a day of clinical workshops, the conference will be officially launched on Thursday morning by WONCA 2023 World Conference Host Organising Committee Chair Adjunct Professor Karen Price and RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins.

Attendees will then be able to choose from 58 different topic streams, covering a range of issues being faced by GPs including mental health, women’s health, climate change, rural practice and chronic conditions.
 
Day one will be highlighted by keynote addresses from the University of Oxford’s Professor Trish Greenhalgh on ‘A sector suffering’, and WONCA President Dr Anna Stavdal, who will discuss ‘Healthcare in uncertain times’.
 
The conference’s long list of events also includes four social occasions, a gala dinner, two award ceremonies, 13 pre-conference workshops, 18 ‘Meet the Expert’ presentations, and seven keynote speakers.
 
But it was not smooth sailing to get to day one of WONCA.
 
Like thousands of other similar events, it was stopped in its tracks by a global pandemic, delaying the 50th anniversary commemorations of the original 1972 conference by a year.
 
However, conference organisers channelled the adaptability of GPs and after 12 months of rearranging plans and pushing back schedules, the event is primed to go ahead bigger and better than ever.
 
Dr Higgins said the 2023 World Conference had been a long time coming, and after years of waiting, it was exciting to see it finally get underway.
 
‘WONCA is a celebration of primary care as the most visited and accessed health professionals in Australia,’ she said.
 
‘The conference will be a chance for us to consult with our overseas colleagues and shape the future of medicine, here in Australia and overseas.
 
‘It highlights the vital role GPs play in keeping communities safe and healthy, as the doctors on the frontline of medicine.
 
‘GPs deserve a seat at every table where policy is made, at every level of government, because our place is at the heart of primary healthcare.’
 
Dr Higgins also reminded attendees to wear green on Saturday, as the conference marks Green Day, urging for climate action across the globe.
 
Aside from the clinical and professional presentations, dozens of WONCA exhibitors will take over the International Convention Centre, ranging from the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, Dementia Support Australia, Doctors for the Environment Australia, and Doctors for Nutrition.
 
Overall, the conference brings together a host of world-leaders in medicine, with the WONCA organisation now comprising of 111 countries and territories, and a membership of 500,000 family doctors.
 
WONCA 2023 continues until Sunday, 29 October.
 
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