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Representing anaesthesia at the 76th World Health Assembly

From 21-30 May, the global health community met in Geneva, Switzerland for the 76th World Health Assembly (WHA).

WFSA, in our capacity as a non-state actor (NSA) in official relations with WHO, sent a strong delegation to attend the WHA and provide our perspectives on the agenda items.

WHA Agenda

Representing WFSA and its Member Societies we are Wayne Morriss (WFSA President), Adrian Gelb (WFSA Immediate Past-President), Naima Yusuf Zakaria, (Medical Director, Tanga Regional Referral Hospital, Tanzania), Michael Champeau (President of the American Society of Anaesthesiologists), Kristine Stave (WFSA CEO) and Francis Peel (WFSA Communications and Advocacy Manager).

As part of the universal health coverage (UHC) agenda discussions, this week WHO Member States are voting to accept two new Resolutions.

If passed and implemented by WHO Member States both these Resolutions have the potential to improve the quality and accessibility of safe and affordable anaesthesia and surgery. WFSA will be presenting an individual statement to the Assembly supporting the Resolutions and calling on countries to support their implementation.

Strengthening WHO preparedness for and response to health emergencies continues to be a priority for both WHO and its Member States. WFSA joined 15 fellow NSAs including, Save the Children, the World Health Council, and the International College of Surgeons to issue a constituency statement championing equity and patient focus as a central element of the global health architecture to prepare for future emergencies.

We’ll be posting these statements on this site when they are finalised.

Download the full agenda for WHA 76

WHA Side-Events

WHA is more than just the Assembly, it is a myriad of meetings and side events covering all the major global health issues and more besides. A lot of the side events are being live-streamed or recorded for future distribution so even if you can’t make it you can join the debate.

Marking your WHA side-event card

21 May – 18:00-21:00 (CEST) Suturing the Gaps in the Global Workforce for Surgical Care Convenors – G4 Alliance, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Global Services

22 May – 18:00-21:00 (CEST) Resolutions to Reality: Bringing Surgery and Anaesthesia into Primary Health Care – G4 Alliance event organised by WFSA, International Federation of Surgical Colleges (IFSC), Operation Smile, Southern African Development Community Technical Experts Working Group (SADC-TEWG) on Surgical Healthcare and Smile Train

  • Naima Zakaria shared her experiences of being an anaesthesiologist in Tanzania and how COVID impacted her ability to care for her patients.

23 May – 18:00 – 20:00 (CEST) Strengthening Health Systems through Upscaling Surgical Care Moving Dialogue to Implementation: Sustainable Financing Convenors – UNITAR, Global Surgery Foundation, Harvard PGSSC, Smile Train (WFSA co-sponsor)

24 May – 15:00 – 16:00 (CEST) Civil Society High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Dialogue at the World Health Assembly (WHA) – CSEM and Global Health Council

24 May – Integrated Emergency, Critical and Operative Care (ECO) for Universal Health Coverage and Protection from Health Emergencies

This ministerial side event discussed the implementation of the Emergency, Critical and Operative Care Resolution and was attended by Ministers of Health and other senior representatives from over 20 countries. Our President Wayne Morriss addressed the event.

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