Dubai, 30 April 2015 – In an effort to further enhance the practice of primary health care in the UAE, the World Organization of Family Medicine (WONCA) East Mediterranean Region and Sanofi – a global healthcare leader – have signed a two-year agreement to deliver a series of educational training sessions to family physicians in the country. To be conducted over a period of two years, the partnership program is designed to enrich doctors’ scientific knowledge in different disease areas including internal medicine, cardiovascular and diabetes.
The signing ceremony was one of the highlights during the opening of the 2nd WONCA East Mediterranean Region Family Medicine Congress which saw the participation of general practitioners from across the East Mediterranean Region.
“Primary care physicians or family doctors play a crucial role; they are essentially the entry point for almost all patients with medical needs,” said Dr. Mohammed Tarawneh, WONCA East Mediterranean Region President. “Enhancement of their skills is crucial in maintaining high standards of care for patients. By providing a platform for their continued education through meaningful partnerships with global healthcare leaders such as Sanofi, we are ensuring that patients ultimately are benefitted.”
With special emphasis on chronic diseases including cardiovascular and diabetes, the program will provide doctors with up-to-date courses on various aspect of disease management, giving them access to global as well as local scientific know-how.
“Sanofi recognizes the important responsibility it has to proactively contribute to enriching the healthcare practice. Through this partnership, we are committed to support WONCA in delivering series of training of international caliber and quality. At Sanofi, patients are at the center of everything we do and we want to empower primary care practitioners so that they may ultimately render services of the highest standards to patients,” said Mohammed Ismail, Medical and Regulatory Affairs Director for Sanofi Gulf.
About WONCA
The World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) is a global not-for-profit professional organization representing family physicians and general practitioners from all regions of the world. WONCA is an organization in official collaborative relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) representing family doctors and family medicine.
WONCA was founded in 1972 and now has 118 Member Organisations representing some 500,000 family doctors in over 130 countries and territories around the world. WONCA has seven regions – Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Iberoamericana-CIMF, North America, and South Asia – each with a Regional President and Regional Council. WONCA supports a number of Working Parties, Special Interest Groups, and Young Doctor Movements. These bodies work to progress specific areas of interest to WONCA and its members around the globe.
About Sanofi
Sanofi, a global healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients’ needs. Sanofi has core strengths in the field of healthcare with seven growth platforms: diabetes solutions, human vaccines, innovative drugs, consumer healthcare, emerging markets, animal health and the new Genzyme. Sanofi is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).
