Valedictory speech GA Heidi Stensmyren (1)

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Valedictory speech
WMA General Assembly
Berlin, Germany
Friday, October 7th
Heidi Stensmyren, MD, MBA
President World Medical Association
Thank you, Chair Dr. Montgomery, Secretary General Dr. Kloiber, officers, Council
and Assembly members, Junior Doctors, and Associate members.
Dear colleagues, dear guests, and observers, dear friends!
Thank you for gathering, for being part of, and contributing to the medical
community. We are thankful that we can finally meet in person for the World
Medical Association’s General Assembly. The value of meeting in person cannot
be measured; as Warren Buffet says, “You will never see eye-to-eye if you never
meet face-to-face.”
My presidential year has had many obstacles to meeting in person. Many of you
are dear friends, and I have seen the joy on your faces when greeting each other
after so long apart. It warms my heart.
Our work is highly dependent on actually getting together to trade ideas and
exchange views. Solutions to complex problems occur by working as a team,
slowly taking one step after another… together. Our work is challenging and
thought-provoking; as the Chinese Curse goes…..we live in “interesting times.”
Difficulties remain due to echoes of the pandemic, diseases, and humanitarian
catastrophes. The WMA has a duty to work together, stand for humanity, and
advocate for the highest ethical standards.
During my year as president, we have advocated for equitable distribution of
COVID vaccines and pushed for sufficient capacity in other vaccine programs.
Still, the world has not caught up. Coupled with the influence of anti-vaccination
campaigns, pandemic issues led to a measles outbreak in Zimbabwe, leaving more
than 700 children dead.
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Supply chain issues and conflict have made caring for the world population an
incredibly complex proposition. War crimes that seemingly occur daily, are cruel
and unacceptable. We have numerous reports of systematic violence against
women and children. The WMA condemns the ongoing attacks on the Ukrainian
people, healthcare workers, and facilities. WHO tracks confrontations and counts
some 800 attacks on healthcare globally this year. This is unacceptable, and as
president of the WMA, in my Valedictory speech, I urge you that WMA is needed
now more than ever.
Refugees pour across borders, humans fleeing for their lives, creating incredible
healthcare challenges. I had hoped to spend time building more robust, global
governing institutions during my presidency. The world needs more
collaboration, and WMA has a critical role in this process. Sadly, we have had to
focus on war, threats of nuclear weapons, and attacks on healthcare workers and
facilities. Healthcare is a vital part of society, and healthcare workers should be
considered “neutral” in any conflict; instead, we have become targets. The
attacks on healthcare facilities have reached never-before-seen levels. The
crimes against civilians and those who care for others are horrible; it is a global
disgrace.
We are forced to focus on a world threatened by nuclear weapons and a despot
with an appetite for neighboring countries. Russia continues to place the planet
in peril – through either arrogance or ignorance – by failing to safeguard Ukraine’s
nuclear power plants ….not to mention the thinly-vailed threat of unleashing
nuclear weapons. The Russian-controlled nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia,
Ukraine, was disconnected from the power grid for the first time in its history.
Many of you vividly recall Chernobyl. In the blink of an eye, this regional
crisis could become a global health disaster. Every physician should take
notice and condemn this irresponsible, reckless behavior.
Immense human suffering continues, and the WMA opposes flagrant violations of
fundamental human rights. We demand allegations of war crimes be investigated
and those responsible brought to justice.
As physicians, working integrated in society, meeting people in all stages and
situations, we have deep insights in struggles of humanity. Violence and injustice
is not isolated to war. Violence against women is still widespread. Most violence
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against women is within the family, often perpetrated by a partner. I am proud to
stand for those without voice and foster equity and equality in the name of WMA.
Like you, I have been living in a ‘virtual’ world. Despite this challenge, you have
graciously invited me to meet. To all I have met this year, thank you for sharing
your knowledge and wisdom. I have been constantly impressed by your
persistence and sustained enthusiasm. Thank you for funding the Ukrainian effort
to provide critical medical equipment.
Pandemic echoes rumble through society in general and the medical community
in particular. More than 600 million cases worldwide, over 6.5 million deaths, and
WHO estimates between 80,000 – 180,000 healthcare professionals have
succumbed to COVID. Every death is tragic, but the downstream effect on society
because of healthcare lives lost is compounded. Adding to these losses are
thousands leaving our ranks early. Many, if not most, have left due to – fear,
burnout, and the (often overlooked) feeling of helplessness – worried that they
can no longer make a difference. We must continue to invest in vaccines, but
other measures to aid our colleagues must occur. This pandemic will not be our
last, and those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it. WMA
demands that governments and other stakeholders recognize the personal risk
healthcare professionals incur and make every effort to protect them.
Our mental health professionals tell me the pandemic directly correlates to the
mental health epidemic. While crisis levels of patients seek aid, few find help.
Our psychiatric colleagues have been devastated by many leaving the profession
or cutting back. Those that remain are overwhelmed by the unbelievable need.
Our colleagues say, as incredible as the current mental health numbers are, there
is woeful underreporting.
This does not begin to address the issues within our professional ranks. The
responses collected from the 1,119 healthcare workers surveyed in the US
indicated that they are: Stressed out and stretched too thin: 93% of healthcare
workers were experiencing stress, 86% reported experiencing anxiety, 77%
reported frustration, 76% reported exhaustion and burnout, and 75% said they
were overwhelmed.
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I have fostered engagement in ‘One Health’ – a WHO initiative promoting human
health, animal health, and a sustainable environment. None of these exists
independent of the others, and an integrated and unified balance is needed.
Covid-19 is not over; it will not be the last pandemic, and far from the last
challenge we face. Healthcare needs to transform in order to give access to all.
Signs are everywhere that we are at critical capacity to provide healthcare for our
entire civilization. Sometimes crisis is the crucible needed to make substantial
change. Let us lead this change!
While I am very proud of our work modernizing the International Code of Medical
Ethics, I am deeply concerned about the growing violence against physicians this
year. A recent study shows that violence against physicians often involves
patients or relatives. Unfortunately, for our Indian colleagues, this is nothing
new; their ongoing study reveals that more than 75% of Indian doctors have
experienced workplace violence. The Indian parliament passed historic legislation
to protect healthcare workers and institutions. Thank you to the Indian Medical
Association for leading the way.
I wish to thank Sunny Park, Clarisse Delorme, Magda Mihaila, Nigel Duncan, and
the other WMA staff for their support despite the effort required, secondary to
the pandemic and geopolitical conflicts. I thank my fellow executive committee
members for our close collaboration in these challenging times – Drs.
Montgomery, Kloiber, Barbe, Enabulele, Matsubara, Wankhedkar, Hermansen,
Park, and Rault. Special thanks to Tomas Hedmark, a remarkably efficient and
professional colleague, and a reliable co-worker. Thanks to the Swedish Medical
Association and our strong and talented president Sofia Rydgren Stahle. Thanks
to Torsten Mossberg, chair of the ethics committee – you have been an invaluable
colleague with your humbleness and sharp mind – not to mention your ability to
sing!
Most importantly, I thank my family, especially my beautiful girls, Nora and Fröja,
who cannot be here today because of school. They have been patient and waited
during long meetings and longer working hours. They have a whole gallery of
pictures of me working at my computer every holiday and weekend for many
years. They need me to come home now.
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Finally, you have my humble gratitude for entrusting me with this office. It is a
challenging and unique position, and every day, I have strived to surpass
expectations of those who have given me this opportunity of a lifetime. My
presidency was deeply affected by the pandemic and the war, but we adapted.
We in leadership are volunteers and temporary volunteers at that. It’s vital to an
organization’s future to recognize this and realize that for the organization to
grow and improve, the old must give way to the new. We need to constantly
invigorate The World Medical Association in order to make it relevant to every
member, every day. I am fortunate to be succeeded by Dr. Osahon Enabulele – a
colleague that I value highly. I am confident he will honor the office, and I wish
him great success.
It has been a fantastic journey. Now that my role as president comes to an end, I
want to thank you for being my colleagues and friends – and that will never end.