{"id":8910,"date":"2017-10-02T11:59:27","date_gmt":"2017-10-02T10:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/GA_2012-Inaugural_Speech_CW-Oct2012.pdf"},"modified":"2017-10-02T11:59:27","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T10:59:27","slug":"ga_2012-inaugural_speech_cw-oct2012-2","status":"inherit","type":"attachment","link":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/es\/noticias-y-prensa\/speeches-talks-interviews\/ga_2012-inaugural_speech_cw-oct2012-2\/","title":{"rendered":"GA_2012-Inaugural_Speech_CW-Oct2012"},"author":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"acf":[],"description":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1
\nCecil B. Wilson, MD, MACP
\nInaugural Speech
\nPresident World Medical Association (2012-2013)
\nOctober 12, 2012
\nMembers of the General Assembly, colleagues, guests and our hosts the Medical
\nAssociation of Thailand.
\nI am honored to serve as President of the World Medical Association.
\nAnd as I think about working with the incredibly dedicated members of this profession,
\nthis noble profession of medicine, I am enthusiastic and optimistic about the future.
\nAs I work with colleagues around the globe, I am reminded of the commitment we all
\nhave to the profession of medicine.
\nI am reminded of the similarity of the challenges we face regardless of our country of
\norigin.
\nReminded, that there are different ways to respond to those challenges \u2013 each of which
\nhas its own value.
\nMost of us went to medial school because of the desire to serve
\nThe allure of science and, yes
\nThe thrill of achievement \u2013
\nOf doing the difficult \u2013
\nThe hard stuff.
\nOf running the fastest mile, sinking the hole in one, pole-vaulting higher than any other.
\nIn my country its major league baseball\u2019s Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers hitting
\nfour home runs in one game earlier this summer.
\nFor you fans of real football, it\u2019s Great Britain and Manchester city scoring twice in two
\nminutes to win the English soccer championship \u2013 a first for Manchester City in 44 years.
\nFor the future of the WMA and world health my three nominees for the most significant,
\nthe difficult, the hard stuff are:
\n1. The moral imperative of ethics in medicine
\n2. The challenge of noncommunicable diseases and
\n2
\n3. The threat of climate change
\nFirst ethics
\nAs physicians we must have moral authority and speak and act with moral authority.
\nThat means we must speak out on broad public health issues.
\nWe are most credible when we speak from a platform based on principle and ethics.
\nThose physicians from around the world who came together to form the World Medical
\nAssociation in 1947 recognized this.
\nThey understood that an organization was needed to become the authoritative voice on
\nglobal standards for medical ethics and professional conduct, rather than focusing solely on
\nprotecting the interests of the profession.
\nFrom the beginning this intent was codified in our International Code of Medical Ethics
\nand the Declaration of Geneva \u2013 also known as the modern \u201cHippocratic oath\u201d.
\nOther declarations have addressed issues such as patient safety, medical ethics and
\nadvanced technology, end of life care, access to care, protection of medical personnel in armed
\nconflicts \u2013 and more recently the use of social media.
\nToday the WMA serves as a voice recognized the world over.
\nThere is perhaps no clearer example of that recognition than the Declaration of Helsinki
\nthat advises physicians on doing medical research on human subjects.
\nThe Declaration of Helsinki is the loadstone; the North Star if you will that guides
\nphysicians, governments and industry in this area.
\nNext month in Cape Town, South Africa the WMA is convening distinguished ethicists,
\neducators and government officials from around the world to look at potential revisions of the
\nDeclaration
\n\u2013 Not to change core principles \u2013 but to determine whether more guidance is needed to
\ndeal with the complexities of today\u2019s world.
\nBut ethical guidance by itself is not enough \u2013 hence goals of moral support and practical
\nadvice.
\nTo that end the WMA is active in making its voice heard.
\n3
\nMost recently speaking out urging the government of Bahrain to overturn the criminal
\ncourt verdict of doctors sentenced to jail for providing care to the injured, and
\nCalling on the government of Syria and President Assad to protect health care facilities
\nand their workers from interference, intimidation or attack.
\nAnd earlier this year, sending our president Dr. deAmaral and chair of council Dr.
\nHaikerwal to Turkey where they marched in solidarity with fellow physicians in opposition to
\nthreats to professional autonomy and self-regulation.
\nThe WMA is not involved in health care per se, but does have an important role in
\nseeking to influence the environment, the milieu in which health care is delivered \u2013 the structure
\nof health care systems.
\nWhich leads to my second point \u2013 the challenge of noncommunicable diseases.
\nNon-communicable Diseases (or NCDS) are now the leading cause of death and
\ndisability worldwide.
\nAnd that is true in the developed and the developing world.
\nThese diseases including cardiovascular and circulatory diseases, diabetes, cancer and
\nchronic lung disease are expected to increase in frequency and are largely preventable
\nThey are not replacing existing causes of illness such as infectious disease and trauma,
\nbut are adding to the disease burden.
\nSo that developing countries face the triple burden of infectious disease, trauma and
\nchronic disease.
\nThe causes of noncommunicable diseases are smoking, obesity, physical inactivity and
\nalcohol abuse \u2013 all lifestyle behaviors.
\nThe primary solution is disease prevention.
\nIn a statement adopted at this General Assembly in Uruguay last year the World Medical
\nAssociation called for national policies that help people achieve healthy lifestyles and behaviors.
\nFor programs to increase access to primary care
\nFor strengthening the health care infrastructure to care for the increasing numbers of
\npeople with chronic disease.
\nThis is a challenge that cannot be met solely by the individual physician seeing a patient
\nin the office, important as that is.
\n4
\nIt is a job for all of society – world governments, national medical associations, medical
\nschools, patients and yes – individual physicians working in their communities seeking to affect
\nhealth policy.
\nBut, life style behaviors, smoking, obesity and alcohol abuse are only part of the story of
\nNCDs.
\nTo get there let me digress.
\nThere is an old fable from this part of the world about three princes who lived long ago in
\nthe country of Serendippo – what we now know as Sri Lanka.
\nTheir father, the king, wanted them to have the best possible education.
\nBut even though he hired the very best teachers, he was not convinced that his sons were
\ngetting the training they needed to rule as king.
\nSo he sent them abroad, away from the privileges of the palace, to sharpen their wits and
\nbroaden their horizons.
\nAnd in the course of their travels, by keeping their minds open, more by accident than
\ndesign, they gained an education that afforded them the wisdom and knowledge to rule.
\nAnd years later, the English writer Harold Walpole coined the word \u201cserendipity\u201d based
\non these stories.
\nHe noted that when the princes travelled, they were always making discoveries and
\ndeveloping the ability to link together seemingly unrelated facts to come to a valuable
\nconclusion.
\nLouis Pasteur, the French chemist and microbiologist said it this way.
\n\u201cChance favors the prepared mind.\u201d
\nOur consideration of the proximate causes of non-communicable diseases \u2013 tobacco,
\nobesity, alcohol \u2013 has led to the in some ways serendipitous understanding that there are equally
\nimportant causes of the causes.
\nThese causes of the causes are social determinants of health- the conditions in which
\npeople are born, grow, live, work and age, and the societal influences on these conditions.
\nThey are major influences on both quality of life, including good health, and length of
\ndisability-free life.
\nFor example:
\n5
\nIn many societies, unhealthy behaviors are higher in people on the lower end of the social
\ngradient.
\nThe lower they are in the socioeconomic hierarchy the more they smoke, the worse their
\ndiet and the less physical activity they engage in \u2013
\nPutting them at increased risk of noncommunicable disease.
\nLower levels of education have the same effect.
\nWe are indebted to the work of Council member Sir Michael Marmot and his colleagues
\nfor giving understanding and international visibility to this important subject.
\nFor governments, understanding this concept means that all policies need to be evaluated
\nas to their effects on the health of its citizens.
\nTherefore, not just one designated minister of health.
\nAll ministers are health ministers.
\nAnd the medical profession has a valuable role to play in seeking action on these social
\nconditions, the causes of the causes that have such important effects on health.
\nMy third point
\nGlobal warming with its accompanying climate change, and its accompanying extremes
\nof weather is already having and will continue to have significant health effects.
\nAlthough governments and international organizations have the main responsibility for
\ncreating regulations and legislation to mitigate the effects of climate change the WMA feels an
\nobligation to highlight the health consequences and suggest solutions.
\nOver the past two decades extreme heat events have killed tens of thousands around the
\nglobe.
\nHeat waves are becoming more frequent, of longer duration and more intense.
\nHeat waves can cause illness and death from heart disease, diabetes, stroke, respiratory
\ndisease and even accidents, homicide and suicide.
\nAt the same time increased evaporation arising from warming seas is generating heavier
\ndownpours increasing flooding and water-borne disease outbreaks when flooding overwhelms
\nsewer systems and contaminates drinking water.
\nWarmer winters favor insect migration.
\n6
\nWorldwide the effect may be mixed for Malaria.
\nIn some regions the geographical range will contract and in others expand;
\nWorldwide disruption of the food supply is predicted to increase malnutrition and
\nsubsequent disorders.
\nPhysicians have a role to play to:
\nEncourage advocacy for environmental protection, reduction of green house gas
\nproduction and sustainable development of green adaptation practices.
\nWork with others to educate the general public about the important effects of climate
\nchange on health and the need to mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects.
\nWork with others, including governments, to address the gaps in research regarding
\nclimate change and health.
\nAll of which brings to mind an ancient Chinese proverb:
\n\u201cWhen is the best time to plant a tree,\u201d asks a young student, sitting in the hot sun with
\nhis teacher.
\n\u201cTwenty years ago,\u201d replies the teacher.
\nThe young boy, feeling a drop of sweat run down his cheek asks,
\n\u201cWell, then when is the second best time?\u201d
\n\u201cNow!!\u201d intoned the teacher.
\nNow
\nNow is the time.
\nFifty years ago \u2013 doesn\u2019t seem that long – US President John F. Kennedy gave a speech at
\nRice University in Houston.
\nKennedy spoke of the conquest not only of physical and technological barriers, but
\npsychological ones.
\nHe said:
\n\u201cWe choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are
\neasy, but because they are hard.
\n7
\nBecause that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.
\nBecause that challenge is one we are willing to accept,
\nA challenge we are unwilling to postpone.
\nAnd one we intend to win.\u201d
\nEthics,
\nNon-communicable disease,
\nClimate change.
\nSo, is the job difficult?
\nYes.
\nIs the path long and winding?
\nAbsolutely
\nIs success assured?
\nAbsolutely not.
\nAll the more reason to embrace it.
\nAnd our success or lack of success depends in the end on our attitude.
\nThe American industrialist Henry Ford said:
\n\u201cIf you think you can.
\nIf you think you cannot.
\nYou are right.\u201d
\nFrom India, Mahatma Gandhi said it this way:
\n\u201cMan often becomes what he believes himself to be.
\nIf I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end
\nby really becoming incapable of doing it.
\n8
\nOn the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to
\ndo it even if I may not have it at the beginning.\u201d
\nAs physicians, we are joined by our common contract with humanity.
\nWe reach out to the sick, the disabled and the chronically ill.
\nSuffering knows no language, and easing pain, finding treatments, developing cures \u2013
\nknow no borders.
\nWorking together we can create the future of medicine.
\nTogether, we can open new doors, share new insights, find new cures, prevent disease
\nand help our patients the world over to live healthier, happier, longer, more productive lives.
\nI look forward to that.
\nThank you.<\/p>\n"},"caption":{"rendered":"

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