11th GFHM 2015
The 11th Global Forum on Humanitarian Medicine in Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery was held in Geneva, Switzerland June 24-27, 2015 with almost 200 participants. There were 28 world renowned guest speakers representing all continents.
The conference started with one day of learning sessions for by the International Quality Improvement Collaborative, IQIC. More than 60 doctors, nurses and technicians from collaborating centres participated representing sites from all continents. Each centre also displayed story boards addressing various problems areas and their successful resolution. The program addressed issues such as how to create a professional environment and complex decision-making. Professor Jenkins made a review of 2014 impressive data from the IQIC database, which was followed by discussions on preoperative issues contributing to postoperative outcomes. In the afternoon there were story boards presentations and discussion as well as the Quality Improvement “Competition”. Out of 5 preselected presentations one was given the award during a lovely dinner by the lake (Lac Leman) where new friendships were formed in lively discussions. The winner was the paper from Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
The second day (June 25) started with the official opening of the Global Forum, followed by 3 sessions. The first session addressed the issue of how to strengthen health care for people with cardiovascular disease in low and middle -income countries, with presentations from WHO, WHF, Childrens’ Heartlink. There were 3 free papers in this session coming fro Ukraine, Vietnam and India. In the second session there were 3 papers presenting results from the IQIC database followed by discussion regarding screening in congenital heart disease. At least two papers almost ready for publication. The third session addressed various types of successful projects- how to achieve sustainability. Starting with 4 lectures from Ukraine, USA and India, followed by 6 free papers from USA, India, Nepal and Colombia
On the third day (June 26) the morning was directed to the Global Heart Network Platform (GHN) followed by lively discussion. Next session dealt with problems related to rheumatic heart disease with special reference to postoperative management. This was followed by a session discussing quality measurements, Telemedicine and education. There were lectures from Azerbaijan, USA and Switzerland followed by 3 free papers from USA, Cameroon and Guatemala. The last session dealt with development of sustainable programs with presentations from USA, Greece, France and Nigeria.
The last day (June 27) was dedicated to free paper session, with in total 7 free papers from USA, Russia, Nepal, Turkey and Columbia.
We thank all the speakers and lecturers for their highly appreciated contributions and to all participants who made this GF a lively platform for discussions and creation of new friendships making a solid base for future networking..
This very successful GF was closed and the next GF announced to be held April 11-15, 2018 at MITERA Children’s hospital, Athens, Greece.
Dr Jan T. Christenson
Permanent Secretary General
Global Forum
