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| Asian Medical Association | |
|---|---|
| Name | Asian Medical Association |
| Formation | 1980s |
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
| Headquarters | Manila |
| Location | Philippines |
| Region served | Asia-Pacific |
| Leader title | President |
| Affiliations | World Health Organization |
Asian Medical Association is a pan-Asian professional association that brings together physicians, surgeons, public health specialists, medical educators, and clinical researchers from across Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. Founded in the late 20th century to promote clinical standards, medical education, and cross-border collaboration, the association interacts with international organizations, national medical councils, academic institutions, and regional networks. It works alongside entities involved in global health, disaster response, and medical ethics to harmonize practices across diverse health systems.
The association emerged during a period of regional cooperation influenced by initiatives such as the World Health Organization Western Pacific and South-East Asia regional programs, the expansion of Asian Development Bank health projects, and the proliferation of professional societies like the Royal College of Physicians and the American Medical Association encouraging international outreach. Early conferences attracted delegations from the Ministry of Health and Welfare (Japan), the Ministry of Health (India), the Department of Health (Philippines), and medical schools affiliated with University of Tokyo, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and University of the Philippines Manila. Key milestones included memoranda of understanding with the World Federation for Medical Education and observer status at meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations health ministers. The association has periodically adjusted its remit in response to regional crises such as the 2003 SARS outbreak, the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, and the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.
The association operates via an executive council, regional chapters, and specialty committees modeled on governance practices found in bodies like the British Medical Association and the American College of Physicians. Leadership roles—President, Secretary-General, Treasurer—are elected at a general assembly drawing representatives from member societies including the Chinese Medical Association, the Korean Medical Association, and the Indian Medical Association. Bylaws refer to procedures comparable to those of the International Council of Nurses and incorporate ethics guidance paralleling the World Medical Association declarations. Advisory boards include representatives from academic institutions such as Peking University Health Science Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, and Mahidol University Faculty of Medicine.
Membership comprises national medical associations, specialty colleges, teaching hospitals, and individual fellows. Prominent affiliates include the Pakistan Medical Association, the Sri Lanka Medical Association, the Bangladesh Medical Association, the Singapore Medical Association, and the Medical Association of Thailand. Specialty partners include societies affiliated with International Society of Nephrology, International Paediatric Association, and World Federation of Neurology. The association also maintains links with regulatory entities like the Medical Council of India's successor bodies and certification agencies associated with Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Institutional members often consist of university hospitals such as Singapore General Hospital, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
Programmatic work spans continuing medical education, capacity building, skill exchanges, and emergency medical response coordination similar to programs run by the International Committee of the Red Cross field teams and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Training initiatives partner with academic exchanges modeled on the Fulbright Program and clinical fellowships comparable to those offered by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The association runs mentorship schemes connecting early-career clinicians from institutions like Chulalongkorn University, University of Colombo, and Lady Hardinge Medical College with senior faculty drawn from King Saud University and National Taiwan University Hospital. It also coordinates medical volunteer deployments during disasters alongside Médecins Sans Frontières-style networks and regional disaster preparedness efforts by organizations such as the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center.
Annual and biennial congresses attract delegates from national societies including the Japan Medical Association and the Indonesian Medical Association, and guest speakers from global centers like Harvard Medical School, Imperial College London, and Karolinska Institutet. Proceedings and position papers are published in affiliated journals, some indexed alongside titles like The Lancet, BMJ, and New England Journal of Medicine in regional bibliographies. Specialty newsletters and peer-reviewed supplements feature contributions from authors associated with Stanford Medicine, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division, and the National University of Singapore. The association also issues clinical guidelines and consensus statements in collaboration with bodies such as the International Diabetes Federation and the World Stroke Organization.
Advocacy priorities address cross-border health workforce mobility, standardization of medical curricula, and responses to communicable disease outbreaks. The association has submitted policy recommendations to fora including the World Health Assembly and the ASEAN Summit. It engages with regulators like the Medical Council of Thailand and ministries including the Ministry of Health (Malaysia) to advance licensing reciprocity, ethical research standards aligned with the Declaration of Helsinki, and patient safety initiatives promoted by the Global Patient Safety Network. Position statements have tackled antimicrobial resistance, tobacco control in concert with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and vaccine confidence aligned with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance objectives.
Funding derives from membership dues, conference revenues, philanthropic grants from foundations similar to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and project grants co-sponsored by multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Institutional partnerships include collaborations with academic consortia such as the Association of Pacific Rim Universities and technical cooperation with the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. Corporate sponsorships from medical technology companies and pharmaceutical firms are managed through transparency policies modeled on best practices endorsed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Health Organization governance guidelines.
Category:Medical associations