The World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) is a
unique organization in that it is a society of societies. By virtue
of membership in a national society, an anesthesiologist is
automatically a member of WFSA.
The WFSA was formally constituted at the 1st
World Congress of Anaesthesiologists held in 1955 in Scheveningen,
the Netherlands. There were 28 founding societies. There are now 122
member societies with Ethiopia, Georgia, Ivory Coast, Laos, Libya and
Rwanda having joined in March 2008 at the 14th World Congress held in Cape Town, South Africa.
The objectives of the WFSA are to make
available the highest standards of anesthesia, pain treatment, trauma
management and resuscitation to all peoples of the world. These goals
are achieved through the work of the WFSA standing committees -
education, publications, safety and quality - all of whose reports are
available on the website. Subspecialty committees on obstetric
anesthesia, pain, pediatric anesthesia, trauma and resuscitation
provide a focus on their particular areas of expertise.
The WFSA Foundation is charged with
raising sufficient funds to enable WFSA to meet its goals and
objectives. This is a constant challenge. With this new website,
donations can now be made on line by credit card. It is hoped this
will facilitate the process and encourage more people to support the
work of the WFSA.
WFSA maintains relationships with other
organizations including the World Health Organization. WHO has just
launched a new initiative entitled Safe Surgery Saves Lives.
Anesthesia is ranked as one of the most important contributors to safe
surgery. WFSA will be working with WHO to decrease mortality from
surgery and anesthesia.
A World Congress of Anaesthesiologists
is held every four years. The next will be in Buenos Aires in 2012.
This is a wonderful opportunity to meet colleagues from all over the
world. Be sure to mark your calendars now.
