RIO EXCLUSIVE: A Major Stride from Information Use to Evidence Generation – a Hopeful Shift for Ethiopia: Observations from FIGO XXII: RIO By Alula M. Teklu, MD, MPH*
Background: Health care, prevention and promotion activities, ought to be led by high quality evidence of effectiveness, feasibility and efficiency among others. The evidences should also be presented in a palatable way, so they could be translated into practice.
One of the common approaches to enhancing evidence generation and use are scientific conferences. Various professional Associations and Federations at different levels, have played pivotal role in setting the standards of practice for the areas of specialty that they are established for. The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) was established to address all aspects of women’s health in the globe.
As continuation of the agreed upon trend, and based on the decision made at the 21st congress held in Vancouver in October 2015, the 22nd congress was held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil from October 14 – 19, 2018. The Rio conference, which was attended by 10,863 participants from 148 countries, has been registered as the biggest in the history of the FIGO congresses.
Although, it is difficult to imagine a conference which might have not been attended by any Ethiopian, it has been evident that only few Ethiopian Obstetricians and Gynecologists, midwives, researchers and others were in attendance on the previous congresses. Moreover, the number of papers selected for oral and poster presentation in the previous sessions were also very limited. But trends of participation in the congress was showing improvements over time. The 22nd edition has witnessed a remarkable improvement and multiple new developments.
Workshop Conducted on Resource Mobilization
The Ethiopian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ESOG) conducted a workshop on resource mobilization at its project bureau on September 15, 2018. About nine people: ESOG Executive Board members, ESOG/ACOG Collaborative Project thematic area committee members, project staff and administrative and finance personnel attended the workshop.
The resource mobilization training resource person is Ms. Elizabeth O'Connell, who is Director of Development for Undeserved and International Women's Health Programs at American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). The focus of the training was basically on business development, fundraising, resource mobilization, partnership development and strategic partnerships. The reason to organize such a training for ESOG is to maintain operations, expand program opportunities, become more responsive to members and to influence national healthcare for women.
Code of Ethics Document in Progress
In a continued effort to develop a document of code of ethics for its members, the Ethiopian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ESOG) has conducted a meeting in Bahir Dar on September 24-25, 2018. The meeting aimed at gathering opinions from members on a prepared draft code of ethics. On the meeting were Professor Peter Schwartz, and expert from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Dr. Abubeker, ESOG member and 40 other Ob-Gyns and Residents.
Developing code of ethics for ESOG’s members is one of the objectives of the Ethics Thematic Area under ESOG-ACOG-CIRHT Collaborative Project.
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