Historic Gathering of Key Health Professions

Top speakers - WHO Director-General Dr Jong-Wok Lee; Humberto Costa, Minister of Health of Brazil; Stephen Lewis, United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.

An international conference bringing together for the first time the three world bodies representing nurses, physicians and pharmacists is to be held in Geneva on 15-16 May 2004.

The Leadership Symposium, Teaming Up for Better Health, is organized by the World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA). WHPA brings together the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) and the World Medical Association (WMA) and represents more than 20 million health professionals worldwide.

Leaders from all three organizations will be speaking, along with others, including Dr Jong-Wok Lee, Director-General of the World Health Organization, Humberto Costa, Minister of Health of Brazil and Stephen Lewis, United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The issues to be discussed during the two days include 'What is the Preferred Healthcare Future?'; 'Partnership and Collaboration'; and 'Strategic Leadership in Health'. The aim of the symposium is to strengthen the bond between the three professions and to encourage closer collaboration at country and health care facility level.

On Monday 17 May, a press briefing will be held at 11.30 at the Restaurant Vieux-Bois, Avenue de la Paix, Geneva, when the outcome of the weekend discussions will be discussed and the results of a survey conducted during the symposium will be announced. This will be followed by a luncheon reception.

Full details of the Symposium programme follow and are available online at www.whpa.org. If you would like to attend, please contact Linda Carrier-Walker at carrwalk@icn.ch (tel.+41 22 908-0100).

What: WHPA Leadership Symposium
Where: World Meteorological Organization, 7bis, avenue de la Paix, 1211 Genève
When: 15-16 May 2004