Dear Members,
It is a great pleasure to report on all the positive endeavours by the WFSA in 2018. From marking the 100th SAFE Course, increasing successes in National Surgical, Obstetric and Anesthesia Planning (NSOAPs), the incredible support from National Societies for the World Anaesthesia Day campaign, to the continued global advocacy for access to safe, timely and affordable anaesthesia.
I would like to thank Dr Gonzalo Barreiro, our Immediate Past President, for his leadership during his two-year tenure as President of the WFSA. I am eager to continue this work. Together with you, the National Societies, we will amplify the voice of the anaesthesia community and advance our mission to unite anaesthesiologists around the world to improve patient care and access to safe anaesthesia and perioperative medicine.
We look forward to working with National Societies in the ever-expanding areas of the WFSA's work. We will continue to support you regarding education and training, safety and quality, innovation and research, and not least advocacy. WFSA is in a unique position in this regard as we are in official relations with WHO and are working with governments to promote anaesthesiology on the global political agenda.
The preparations for the World Congress in 2020 are ongoing. We continue to raise funds for our flagship Fellowships Training Programme, which has allowed a total of 364 fellows from low-income settings receive subspecialty mentoring in anaesthesia. Your input and support is crucial for our activities to benefit you, our members, and all the patients that need our services. Therefore, we welcome you to continue working together with your Federation to be an increasingly far-reaching and united voice for universal access to safe anaesthesia.
Thank you for contributing to a successful 2018, and I wish you a happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous 2019.
With my best regards,
Jannicke Mellin-OlsenWFSA President