Published: 17/12/2021

From the President’s desk

World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA): Together We Own The Future

 The 23rd World Conference of Family Doctors went ahead virtually on 22-27th November, instead of in Abu Dhabi as originally intended. The SAAFPs made our presentation to host the next conference in 2025, but unfortunately were not successful, and the conference will be held in Lisbon, Portugal.

Nevertheless, a number of our members were honoured or recognised during the conference:

Published: 13/12/2021

5 November 2021
The South African Paediatric Association (SAPA) remains committed to promoting the wellbeing of all children and their mothers.

Background
It has been brought to the attention of SAPA that some pregnant and breastfeeding women are being advised by public and private sector healthcare workers, including general practitioners, obstetricians and paediatricians to decline or delay COVID-19 vaccination.
The National Department of Health has issued a circular recommending all pregnant and breastfeeding women be offered the vaccination1 and SAPA supports these recommendations.

Please click here to view the full statement

Published: 10/09/2021

Published: 10/09/2021

Prof Jimmy Volmink, Dean of the FMHS, and other faculty members appealed to all South Africans to get vaccinated: “We have an effective weapon to overcome the enemy – #COVID19.”
Watch the press briefing here: https://bit.ly/3njqvTw
#fmhsvaccinesolidarity #letsdothis

Published: 08/07/2021

Thanks to the 215 people that answered the questions in our survey about your needs for continuing professional development.

The following is a brief summary. Most respondents tor (49%), followed by the public sector (39%) (Figure 2).

Figure 1: Main field of practice (%)

Figure 2: Public and private sectors (%)

Published: 07/06/2021

31 May 2021

Dear Professor Laetitia Rispel,

NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH: 2030 HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH STRATEGY

This new policy on Human Resources for Health in South Africa has come to my attention as President of the South African Academy of Family Physicians. In this open letter the Academy as the professional body for Family Medicine in South Africa and official member of the World Organisation of Family Doctors would like to respond to and comment on the recommendations. You may have noticed a recent editorial on the policy document by Professor Klaus Von Pressentin, the Editor-in-Chief of the South African Family Practice Journal.1

Published: 19/05/2021

The new Human Resources for Health policy supports the need for South African family medicine training programmes to triple their output.

Klaus von Pressentin

“Building the future with family doctors” is the 2021 World Family Doctor Day theme.¹ But how does this theme align with our National Department of Health’s plans for the future of family medicine and primary care in South Africa? The much-awaited 2030 Human Resources for Health (HRH) policy represents a need for action for our discipline and the Department of Health, as highlighted in the accompanying strategic plan for 2020/21 until 2024/25.² In the foreword, the Minister of Health highlighted “the need for government to take decisive steps to improve equity in the distribution of health care providers, between the public and private health sectors, and between urban and rural areas.”²

Published: 11/05/2021

From the President’s Desk

We are excited to announce that the National Congress will go ahead this year on 13-14th August 2021. The Congress will be fully virtual with state-of-the-art software and organization provided by Scatterlings. The programme is being finalized by Prof Indiran Govender and his committee at University of Pretoria.

The theme will be “Primary Health Care in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond”. As the Congress is fully virtual the registration fees will be less than usual, and it should be easier for people to participate. We look forward to seeing you there.

Published: 29/01/2021

Your art can appear on the cover page of the 2022 eBook parts of the South African Family Practice!

We are inviting members and readers to submit their art – whether it is a photo of their artwork, a photograph taken or any other media. The artwork should say something about family practice, family medicine or primary care. This is an opportunity to share your experiences with your colleagues and the wider Southern African primary care community.