WPA Review Q2 2022

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the second edition of our World Psychiatric Association's (WPA) eNewsletter – WPA Review in 2022. As we reach the mid-way point of the year, it is a good time to reflect on the first half of 2022, review the events that have occurred and share our achievements.

Unfortunately, the people of Ukraine are still in the middle of a terrible war with Russia. WPA continues to express our profound concern and support for the people of Ukraine and for our dear colleagues in the WPA Ukrainian psychiatric associations. Like most of the people of the world, as the conflict continues to escalate, we are deeply worried about the wellbeing of Ukrainians during this conflict, and the consequences of war. As a consequence, our Advisory Committee for Responses to Emergencies (ACRE) sub-committee, which was set up at the beginning of the invasion, has carried out the following activities:

Prof. Danuta Wasserman (WPA President Elect) established collaboration with other professional organisations and neighbouring country member societies for preparing further humanitarian activities. This has included:
- Calling for donations in order to supply medications in Ukraine. This can be done either by using the “Donate Now” button or via a bank transfer on our web page here. WPA has donated an initial $2000 for this cause and we are still collecting donations.
- Establishing a trauma resource centre on the WPA website. We are continuing to add resources to this page as and when we receive them.
Liaised with our member associations to provide a joint statement condemning the continuation of conflict, calling for the war to stop and collaborating on various support programmes for mental health professionals and patients in Ukraine and neighbouring countries who are receiving refugees and migrants.
The Polish Psychiatric Association (PPA), a member of WPA's Zone 9, offered support to Ukrainian psychiatrists and two Ukrainian Psychiatric Associations by actively providing medical and humanitarian aid. Read more here.
The WPA and Global Mental Health Academy jointly sponsored ICD-11 Diagnostic Guidelines for Mental, Behavioural or Neurodevelopmental Disorders online course offered 20 complimentary places in May for our Ukrainian colleagues. Read more about the course here.
Continuing to speak with our colleagues at the WPA Ukrainian psychiatric associations to emphasise our commitment and explore all means of support.
Continuing to hold regular meetings to regularly review the current situation.

The ACRE committee have also been raising funds for our Sri Lankan Member Society for their patients during the financial crisis and are continuing to offer support for our Afghan colleagues. WPA and its members are determined to stand strong and support those impacted by such distressing situations. As always, I am constantly impressed by what our members accomplish through their collaborations, adaptability and resilience during these critical situations.

Our day-to-day work continues and WPA has also been busy this past quarter with a number of projects. Our Action Plan 2020-2023 Working Groups have continued to meet and work together to fulfil their terms of reference. I am pleased to see the progress they have been making and the activities they have and are organising.

As we near our 22nd World Congress, we are busy with ensuring our first in-person event in two years will be a big success. The 22nd World Congress of Psychiatry will be held in Bangkok from the 3^rd – 6^th of August 2022. With 150 sessions, 350 speakers and over 4000 participants, it is set to be an amazing event. Together with the Psychiatric Association of Thailand and supported by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Thailand & Department of Mental Health, Thailand, we are looking forward to seeing everyone again.

We have also just had our WPA Thematic Congress in Athens, Greece. From the 23rd - 25th of June we welcomed our peers for a full programme of activities all devoted to the principles, advances, effectiveness, and challenges of Early Intervention across diagnostic classification boundaries of psychiatric disorders and across the life span. There are also several more Thematic congresses planned for 2022, so please do regularly check the WPA website meeting programme for further information.

Online activities continue to be an important focus for us with a list of ongoing and completed projects, such as:

We continue to use our website and social channels to communicate and promote our activities, resources and work
WPA Scientific Sections have been updating their web pages to ensure their Section's information is up-to-date and engaging. You can view the pages here.
We have been and continue to work hard with WPA Scientific Sections, Collaborating Centres, Zonal Representatives and third-party associations to produce a number of free and paid online educational activities for 2022. These included the latest edition of the "ICD-11 course", a series of webinars on "Schizophrenia" and "Up-date on Vascular Cognitive Impairment and Lewy Body Dementia", to name just a few. Please do regularly visit this page for any details of upcoming courses.
The WPA Educational Portal team have added a number or new modules to the platform. Read their submission below to see the full list of latest additions or visit the Portal itself to view the wealth of resources that are available to you.
We also finalised the first series of our “Meet the Leaders” film project where we have been interviewing the members of the Executive Committee as well as past WPA Presidents. We have been regularly releasing a new interview on our website and social channels. Subscribe to our news page and YouTube channel to make sure you do not miss them as we publish them.

As we enter the last half of 2022, I hope that our efforts exemplified by the above motivate and inspire you find the strength to continue your great work during these difficult times. As always, I am very grateful to WPA and its members for the support we offer to those in most need. Thank you all for your ongoing commitment.

Best wishes,
Afzal

Prof. Afzal Javed
WPA President

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