Dear Member Societies,

Welcome to 2025 and our first Member Society Newsletter of the year. We hope you have had a good start to the new year so far.

WFSA 2024 annual report

We’re excited to have published our 2024 annual report highlighting the successes of the past year and our work to support the global anaesthesiology community. You can access this here.

We’d love to hear any feedback and comments from you on the report. Please send these to comms@wfsahq.org.

Plans for 2025

We have many exciting plans for 2025, including the first of many events focused on our 2025 annual theme ‘Anaesthesiology in Health Emergencies’ which took place on 14 January and the recording of which can be accessed on YouTube. This year will also mark our 70th anniversary, as WFSA’s founding dates back to the first World Congress of Anaesthesiologists held in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1955. As we mark this, we will celebrate anaesthesiologists from around the world who have made a significant impact on our specialty and Federation. More details will be shared on our website and in upcoming newsletters.

During 2025 we will continue to push the ‘Santa Cruz Declaration: Strengthening Patient Blood Management Globally’. In recent weeks we have had several new signatories to this, including Mongolia, Myanmar, Pacific Islands, Pakistan, Republic of Srpska, Sierra Leone and Thailand, taking the total number of signatories to over 100. We encourage all WFSA Member Societies to consider signing this to highlight their support for this important topic to increase patient safety.

Our current strategic priorities run until 2028. You can access these in English, French and Spanish on our website at Reports – WFSA.

WCA2026 updates

WCA2026 will offer a diverse scientific programme, including 19 tracks tailored to sub-specialties in anaesthesiology. Currently, the first four tracks are available to view and download: Paediatric Anaesthesia, Professional Practice, Pain Medicine, and Sustainability. Keep an eye on the congress website as more tracks are released in the coming weeks!

Additionally, don’t miss our upcoming webinar on Friday 7 February, at 12:00 UTC (07:00 EST | 17:30 IST): “Paediatric Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia: From Basics to Global Surgical Programmes”. Speakers include Jin-Tae Kim and Mehdi Trifa, who will share insights into paediatric anaesthesia practices worldwide.

As 2025 unfolds, watch out for WCA2026 leaders and faculty at major congresses globally. Stay connected for more updates and opportunities to engage with WCA2026.

Recent & upcoming events

Membership updates

Early notice of 2025 WFSA General Assembly 

This will take place on Sunday 29 June 2025 at 13.00 UK time. We will be circulating the formal meeting notice with a draft agenda in coming months. As in June 2024, this will be a hybrid meeting Member Societies attending virtually.

(Re)joining WFSA 

We are proud to represent 142 Member Societies across 151 countries. We encourage you to help us to reach your neighbouring countries’ anaesthesia societies or groups of anaesthesiologists who may wish to join our global family. Please contact memberships@wfsahq.org for further details. You can also share this page which has a link to our online application form.

2025 membership dues 

The March 2024 General Assembly approved a USD 0.25 increase in the membership dues rate for 2025, taking the cost per member of a WFSA Member Society to USD 4.35. We are currently sending out the membership invoices for 2025 with this rate applied. While the constitutional deadline for payment of membership dues is not until 30 September, we would appreciate your prompt settlement of these to allow us to continue to deliver our critical educational programmes and projects such as Fellowships.

In memoriam

~

As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any queries, comments or concerns to our dedicated membership email on memberships@wfsahq.org.

Till the next time, stay safe.