A world in turmoil: keep thefocus on support and advocacy

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Relaunch of www.figo.org | Tokyo hosts Executive Board 2014 |Meet the new FIGO Administrative Director | Latest World Congress information available on www.figo2015.org | FIGO Cancer Report available to buy online

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International Federation ofGynecology and ObstetricsFFIIGGOOFIGO

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communications@figo.orgwww.figo.org September 2014

UN are themselves finding it difficult to grapplewith these situations. We are a professional andnot a political organisation, and in thesesituations we urge our Member Societies to dotheir utmost to help their own women andchildren. We sincerely welcome and support allefforts to help in the humanitarian effort. The Asia& Oceania Federation of Obstetrics &Gynaecology (AOFOG), for example, hascontributed significant funds and worked withother voluntary organisations to rebuild a schoolthat was demolished in the Philippines. We offerour appreciation to its Secretary-General,Professor Walfrido W Sumpaico, and his team formaking such a valuable contribution.

Violence against women – a blighton the worldEven in countries that enjoy a relatively peacefulenvironment, the violation of women’s rights isoften beyond belief. Sex discrimination andviolence often starts before birth, and cancontinue through childhood, adolescence andadult life: sex-selected abortion; female genitalmutilation; childhood marriage; forced labour andslavery; adolescent sexual violence; rape;

‘honour’ – and dowry-related killing; domesticand gender violence … all terrible everydaynews.

Fundamental to these issues are poverty and alack of political will, education and equality insociety. Perpetrators come in many guises withdifferent excuses. FIGO needs to cement linkswith similar organisations and work with them tobring about change through robust local actionand advocacy. It is a mammoth task that must betackled collectively – one organisation alonecannot bring about change without strongpolitical will.

The FIGO Executive Board recently passed aresolution to establish a Working Group toengage in these issues – our Chief Executive andDr Diana Galimberti from Argentina will see howbest to work with several NGOs who are alreadyactive in this area. FIGO should be at theforefront via advocacy and activities – it would beexcellent if each national society could organiseits own work and inform us about relevantactivities. This is an invaluable way for others tolearn lessons from successful projects and todisseminate the information to other countries.

Executive Board Meeting, July 2014, Tokyo

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Dear ColleaguesI had hoped that my introduction to this particularissue could have been different in tone from mylast one. Regrettably, it is not – the situationaround the world has gone from bad to verymuch worse.

Our heart sinks when we hear the distressingworld news of civil unrest; wars; the tragicshooting down of a passenger plane; the recentoutbreak of Ebola in Africa; natural disasters; andlarge scale accidents with high death tolls. As weare only too aware, those most adverselyaffected by conflict and disaster are women andchildren. I have received many messages fromcolleagues about the situations afflicting theirown regions and people. FIGO offers its sinceresympathies. Wherever possible, we have writtento politicians through our Member Societies to tryto help influence certain issues eg for the releaseof the pregnant Sudanese woman sentenced todeath for marrying a husband from a differentreligion.

The larger issues that confront countries andregions are – understandably – beyond thescope of our Federation; large nations and the

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A world in turmoil: keep the focus on support and advocacycontinued from page 1

In ternat iona l Federat ion of Gynecology and Obstet r ics | September 20142

Tokyo welcomes Executive BoardIn July, we had successful FIGO Executive Boardand Officers’ meetings, and are most grateful tothe Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology(JSOG) for its tremendous hospitality. Our specialthanks go to Professor Ikuo Konishi, JSOGExecutive Board Chairperson, and ProfessorTadashi Kimura, Japan’s FIGO Executive Boardmember, for co-ordinating all arrangements. Youwill find a brief report of activities on page 4.

A special mention must go to the holding of aWorkshop on Sexual and Reproductive Rights –overseen by Professor Lesly Regan (Chair of theFIGO Committee for Women’s Sexual andReproductive Rights) – which was muchappreciated by the Executive Board. Somemembers, in fact, have pledged to run theseWorkshops in their own national or regionalsociety meetings for the benefit of trainees andmedical students. Professor Regan and I had anextremely rewarding experience when wepresented this Workshop to over 100 medicalstudents under the auspices of the BritishMedical Association. The principles and the caseexamples are available on The Global Library ofWomen’s Medicine website (www.glowm.com),FIGO’s educational platform. GLOWM is alsocurrently working with FIGO to make available toMember Societies the entire content of its site ona USB memory stick, which can then be usefullydownloaded to computers in medical schoolsand hospitals.

L–R: Professors Di Renzo, Rushwan, Arulkumaran andPurandare during the Executive Board Meeting

Promoting FIGO at national, regionaland international levelsIn April, I attended two meetings at the WorldHealth Organization (WHO) regarding the ‘EveryMother, Every Newborn Action Plan’: one relatedto quality indicators and the other to thepreparation of the launch of ‘Every Mother, EveryNewborn’ which was jointly organised by theWHO and UNICEF. Professor William Stones,Chair of the FIGO Committee for Safe

Motherhood and Newborn Health, and pastCommittee Chair, Dr André Lalonde, attendedand presented FIGO’s 10 steps to a ‘Mother-Friendly Hospital’. Some or all of these steps maybe incorporated in some form when the WHOand UNICEF refine and finalise the action plan.

In the same month, several FIGO Officers and Iattended the annual meeting of JSOG – we werehappy to contribute to the international study daythat was of an exremely high standard.

The European Board and College of Obstetricsand Gynaecology (EBCOG) organised asuccessful meeting in Glasgow in May 2014.EBCOG’s President, Professor Chiara Benedetto,incoming President, Dr Tahir Mahmood, andOrganising Committee Chair, Professor AlanCameron, need to be congratulated on itsenormous success. FIGO participated in twosymposiums – one on misoprostol and the otheron safety and quality of care and the reduction ofmedical litigation.

In the same month, I had a valuable opportunityto promote FIGO activities at the ‘Highlights onStillbirth and Maternal Mortality’ conference inPalermo, Italy.

In early June, I represented FIGO at the TriennialCongress of the International Confederation ofMidwives (ICM), together with Professor HamidRushwan and Professor Francoise Shenfield (Co-Chair of the FIGO Committee for EthicalAspects of Human Reproduction and Women’sHealth). One major Congress highlight was therelease of the 2014 report on the ‘State of theWorld’s Midwifery’. The focus was naturallyconcentrated on the 70+ countries where thesituation needs great improvement in terms ofthe number of midwives, adequate training,continuous education and the conditions underwhich they work. I urge national societies to workwith their national midwifery associations andinfluence their governments to bring about themuch needed changes.

The Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society ofMalaysia (OGSM) also held its excellent annualconference in June. Dr ShankarSammanthamurthy, President, and Dr Tang BoonNee, Immediate Past President, will continue torun invaluable life-saving skills courses in variousparts of Malaysia. FIGO encourages them tocontinue their robust activities which are of greathelp to neighbouring countries.

The Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetricsand Gynecology (NFOG) held a Congress in mid-June in Stockholm. I had the privilege ofinteracting with many friends, and the socialfunction at Stockholm’s City Hall (where the

Nobel Peace Prize is presented) was a great treatfor the hard working obstetricians andgynecologists. I am grateful to Professor MagnusWestgren, President of the NFOG 2014Congress, and to Professor Sven Montan forrequesting me, as President of FIGO, to handover the ‘Professor Ingemar Ingemarsson Prize’in honour of a physician who has contributed somuch, not only to Swedish/Nordic obstetrics, butalso to world obstetrics.

Participation in varied national, regional andinternational conferences is always a learningexperience for me – it is a very useful vehiclethrough which to explore how FIGO can bestwork with its societies. I am truly grateful for theinvitations and the splendid hospitality received.

Dates for your diary: FIGO-SAFOG-SLCOG (30 October–2 November 2014)Professor Alokendu Chatterjee, President of theSouth Asian Federation of Obstetrics &Gynaecology (SAFOG), Deshabandu KapilaGunawardena, President of the Sri Lanka Collegeof Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (SLCOG)and I – on behalf of FIGO – invite you toparticipate in this important conference inColombo, Sri Lanka, at the end of October thisyear. Many organisations are participating,including WHO, UNFPA, SIDRA, the March ofDimes and JSOG – I would urge you to reviewthe programme at www.figo-safog2014colombo.org and register now. We would like tosee as many as possible at the conference, and,if time permits, for you to enjoy what Sri Lankahas to offer by way of its splendid touristattractions. Dr Rohana Haththotuwa, as the localOrganising Committee Chair, and Professor MalikGoonewardene, as Scientific Committee Chair,deserve a special mention – they are doing a trulyexcellent job to provide you with the very bestconference experience.

Vancouver 2015 firmly on track: 4–9 October 2015The FIGO Triennial Congress is the premier globalevent for the world’s obstetrical andgynecological community, and we would like asmany of you as possible to attend.

Professor Abd Aziz Yahya, Organising CommitteeChair, Professor Joanna Cain, ScientificCommittee Chair, and Marta Collins, FIGO Eventsand Meetings Manager, are working closely withthe various Committees and the localProfessional Congress Organisers to produce asuperb event. You will find key dates for theCongress on page seven of this Newsletter, andplease visit www.figo2015.org for the very latestinformation as it is released.

I join the FIGO Officers, Executive Board andSecretariat in wishing you a productive fewmonths until my next news in the Decemberissue.

Best wishes

Professor Sir Sabaratnam ArulkumaranFIGO President

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

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L–R: Professor Tsung-Hsien Su (FIGO’s Taiwan Executive Board member); Professor Ikuo Konishi (JSOG Executive BoardChairperson); Marie-Christine Szatybelko (FIGO’s Senior Administrator and Committee Manager); Bryan Thomas (retiredFIGO Administrative Director); Mrs Hiromi Kimura; Professor Tadashi Kimura (FIGO’s Japan Executive Board Member)

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S OVERVIEW

In ternat iona l Federat ion of Gynecology and Obstet r ics | September 2014 3

Dear ColleaguesI trust you are well and have been enjoying alively, challenging and productive few months.

I have been travelling extensively since our lastissue in May, and can report on the successfuldevelopment of various activities andcollaborations.

In mid-May, I travelled to Istanbul to attend theGlobal Conference on Maternal Nutrition, tospeak on the ‘Prevalence of Maternal MalnutritionGlobally’ and to conduct workshops on‘Developing Maternal Nutrition Guidelines’.

The FIGO Initiative on Maternal Nutrition aims to develop and disseminate evidence-basedGlobal Guidelines on Maternal Nutrition from pre-conception to the post-partum period, incollaboration with high-level academics,professionals and scientists, who are expert inthis field. Unrestricted grant support from AbbottNutrition International will help aid thedevelopment and dissemination which isenvisaged to start at the FIGO Congress inVancouver next October.

The FIGO President and Chief Executive with Dr FrancoiseShenfield (ICM Congress, Prague, June 2014)

In June, the International Confederation ofMidwives (ICM) held its superb triennial congressin Prague. The FIGO leadership was inattendance and contributed to several importantsessions: ‘Improving the Quality of Care inMaternal and Newborn Health’ (the FIGOEssential Interventions project); ‘Misoprostol forthe management of post-partum haemorrhage:new evidence and the way forward’ (with GynuityHealth Projects, our collaborators on the FIGOMisoprostol Initiative); Obstetric Fistula (the FIGO

Fistula Initiative); and Helping Mothers SurviveBleeding after Birth (with the Laerdal Foundation,collaborators on our HMS-BAB project). Onehighlight of this very influential congress was thepublication of the new ‘State of the World’sMidwifery Report 2014’. The first such report waslaunched in 2011, and I am pleased to say thatthe new edition continues its excellentdocumentation and exploration of the relevantissues. You can access the report at:www.unfpa.org/public/home/publications/pid/17601.

Mid-June took me to Toronto, Canada, torepresent FIGO at the 70th Annual Clinical andScientific Conference of the Society ofObstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada(SOGC). I presented on the role of professionalhealth associations for promoting global healthequity and also participated in an interestingsession on understanding the complexities ofadolescent reproductive health in low-resourcecountries.

I visited Dar es Salaam in late June to participatein an important meeting of the FIGO FistulaInitiative, which included a review meeting fortraining the trainers, a visit to the ComprehensiveCommunity Based Rehabilitation organisation inTanzania (CCBRT) and a meeting withcollaborator EngenderHealth. We are verypleased to announce that we have now finaliseda new grant with partners the Fistula Foundationto enable FIGO to continue its valuable work inhelping to build the capacities of fistula surgeonsin accredited training centres, using the FIGOGlobal Competency-Based Fistula SurgeryTraining Manual.

As you will see reported elsewhere in this issue,the FIGO 2014 Executive Board meeting tookplace in Tokyo, Japan, in early July, hosted by theJapan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology(JSOG). We were the recipients of superbhospitality and excellent organisation, for whichwe sincerely thank the Society – a mostproductive and enjoyable event ensued.

In late July, I was invited to the ‘1000+ OBGYNProposal Planning Workshop’ in Ann Arbor,Michigan, USA, which was designed to buildupon the work and findings from the Initiative’smeeting held in Accra, Ghana in February earlierthis year. The purpose was to create a proposalto establish the five-year implementation plan forthe Initiative, which is aiming to train 1000 plusob/gyn specialists in sub-Saharan Africa toaddress women’s health challenges in the region.The meeting – hosted by the University ofMichigan Department of OBGYN GlobalInitiatives – was funded by the Bill and MelindaGates Foundation.

New MOUs with SMFM and NESAI am delighted to report that FIGO has recentlysigned two new Memoranda of Understandingwith the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine(SMFM) and the New European SurgicalAcademy (NESA).

SMFM dedicates itself to improving maternal andchild outcomes and raising the standards ofprevention, diagnosis and treatment of maternaland foetal disease. Proposed areas for our futurecollaboration include developing joint educationaldocuments, and participation in future FIGOconferences.

NESA – an international surgical academy withmembers in 51 countries – re-evaluates existingsurgical procedures, optimises and rationalisesthem where necessary, introduces new surgicalprocedures and ideas, and shares and transfersthe accumulated knowledge to countries withlimited resources. Proposed areas for our futurecollaboration include working with the FIGOCommittee for Capacity Building in Educationand Training in developing courses in countrieswith limited resources.

We look forward to reporting on the developmentof our activities with SMFM and NESA in futureissues.

Finally, further to the recent signing of aMemorandum of Understanding between FIGOand Wellbeing of Women and the announcementof an Academic Fellowship available forinternational candidates – a grant of up to£20,000 to enable a candidate in the field ofobstetrics and gynecology to link up withacademic mentors in the UK for a period of up tothree years – I am delighted to report that wenow have feedback on applications and theselection process is in full swing.

Relaunch of www.figo.orgWe are extremely delighted to present our newlyrelaunched website at www.figo.org. I am sureyou will all agree that it is considerably fresher andeasier to navigate, providing clear and up to dateinformation on our current projects andrelationships. The new website would not havebeen possible without the hard work andcommitment of Alexandra Gilpin, who hasoverseen the project. I would like to ask ourMember Societies and other collaboratingcolleagues to promote it as much as possible,and to link their own websites to it. In addition, wenow have an official FIGO Facebook page, wherewe’ll be delighted to receive your comments.

Our new Administrative Director, Mr SeanO’Donnell, who you will meet elsewhere in thisissue, has settled well into life at FIGO – we feelconfident that we are in safe hands!

My very best wishes

Professor Hamid RushwanFIGO Chief Executive

Professor Rushwan (centre, front row) and colleagues at the Global Conference on Maternal Nutrition, Istanbul (May 2014)

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FIGO NEWS

4 In ternat iona l Federat ion of Gynecology and Obstet r ics | September 2014

Tokyo welcomes FIGO Executive Board 2014The 2014 Executive Board meeting was hostedby the Japan Society of Obstetrics andGynecology (JSOG) and held at the HotelChinzanso in Tokyo, Japan, in July 2014.

This important annual meeting enabled electedOfficers and Executive Board members to cometogether to take clear decisions on importantmatters affecting the running of the organisation.

The Board meets at least once every year, iselected by free vote at the General Assembly,and its members comprise representatives of 24national societies and the six Officers.

The new and retiring Administrative Directors, Sean O’Donnell and Bryan Thomas, share a drink

As is traditional, as well as holding the mainBoard and Officers’ meetings, FIGO took theopportunity to hold a number of sidemeetings/events, including one for the Audit andFinance Committee, a special FIGO-JSOGEducational Seminar and a Workshop on theWomen’s Sexual and Reproductive RightsCurriculum.

There were also fascinating field visits to theTokyo Fire Department Control Center, and to the

Maternal and Child Health Center, Aiiku Hospital(http://www.aiiku.net/index_english.html),which provides ‘high-quality medical care andsupports a safe and comfortable pregnancy,labour/delivery, and child-rearing.’

The retiring Editor of FIGO’s main publication, theInternational Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics(IJGO), Dr Timothy Johnson, and the retiringFIGO Administrative Director, Bryan Thomas,both received gifts of thanks for their respectivegreat services to FIGO.

Professor Hamid Rushwan, FIGO ChiefExecutive, commented: ‘The Board meeting isalways a valuable annual opportunity to touchbase with our esteemed colleagues, and we aregrateful to all for their time, expertise andcommitment to the successful continuation ofFIGO strategies.

‘We would also like to thank JSOG for its

excellent organisation and hospitality, whichgreatly contributed to the overall success of themeeting.’All photos courtesy of JSOG

Dr Timothy Johnson receiving his gift from the FIGOPresident

L–R: Professor Tadashi Kimura (FIGO’s Japan Executive Board Member); Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran (FIGOPresident); Professor Ikuo Konishi (JSOG Executive Board Chairperson)

FIGO’s new initiative to produce, disseminateand implement evidence-based standards ofcare protocols on caring for women withgestational diabetes (with financial supportsecured from Novo Nordisk) began in earnestat a meeting of independent experts held inLondon in May.

The objectives of the meeting, chaired byProfessor Moshe Hod (President-Elect of theEuropean Association of Perinatal Medicine(EAPM), were to: agree on a complete list ofessential GDM-related materials that need tobe developed and the core

components/chapters of the GDM Guidelines;confirm roles, responsibilities, a timeline anddeliverables for the current project period; andmobilise longer term resource strategies for theFIGO GDM initiative.

The Expert Group, representing FIGO regions,will develop the Guidelines, with the involvementof the FIGO Committee for Safe Motherhood andNewborn Health and the FIGO Working Group onBest Practice on Maternal-Foetal Medicine.

It was recognised that, despite GDM being acommon medical condition, the area remainsextremely neglected, with women in low-resource

settings bearing the brunt of this neglect. TheGuidelines should therefore be developed witha view to them being actively accessed andused in a way that inspires and supportshealthcare providers to better serve theirpatients.

Professor Rushwan, FIGO Chief Executive,commented: ‘The meeting was an excellentplatform from which to launch such an excitingnew initiative. Several important conclusionswere reached over two days of lively andenriching discussions - chief among these wasthe understanding that the reasons behind arecommendation should be transparent andshould be backed by evidence, feasibility andacceptability. Another vital observation is that itis not just about clinical interventions, but alsopublic policies and government funding.

‘FIGO is uniquely placed as an organisation, asit can initiate several major avenues throughwhich to assist with discussion, developmentand dissemination. These include: our highstatus within the United Nations system,enabling the guidelines to be discussed withthe World Health Organization (WHO) and theUnited Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); theFIGO Committee for Safe Motherhood andNewborn Health has expertise in supportingmaternal healthcare in low-resource settings;the utilisation of close collaboration withwww.glowm.com, FIGO’s educationalplatform; and the continuation of valuable pre-Congress and other post-graduatecourses on GDM.’

Gestational Diabetes: FIGO Expert Group sets the scene for Standards of Care protocols

The Expert Group in London (May 2014)

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FIGO NEWS

FIGO is delighted to report the relaunch of itswebsite: www.figo.org.The new site is clean, fresh and easy to follow.

Divided into six main sections – About Us, OurMembers, Our Work, Events, News andPublications and Resources – the site providesclear and comprehensive information for thosewho want to obtain a detailed overview of ourunique organisation.

A large portion of the site is also available to viewin French and Latin American Spanish – a newand useful highlight which will benefit many ofFIGO’s members. A special member map(together with a ‘sortable’ member list) alsoprovides an ‘at-a-glance’ overview of wheremember societies are based globally.

Professor Hamid Rushwan said: ‘A new websitebuild is always a challenging and excitingundertaking for any organisation. We areextremely pleased to provide web visitors with asignificantly improved online presence, and hopethat this will encourage many more energisingconnections between FIGO and its variousaudiences.’

He added: ‘FIGO’s global reach is considerable –we encourage all our Member Societies to linktheir own websites to www.figo.org, their globalbody, to help promote the valuable work we areactively engaged in. Members’ own contactdetails, and website addresses, will continue tobe available in the Our Members section.’

In addition, FIGO now has a presence on socialmedia – we are looking forward to developingthis in the months to come.

Visit us at www.facebook.com/FIGO.org and‘like’ us, post a comment or share a link.

Visit us at www.twitter.com/FIGOHQ and‘follow’ us.

In ternat iona l Federat ion of Gynecology and Obstet r ics | September 2014

FIGO HouseWaterloo Court, 10 Theed StreetLondon SE1 8ST, UKTel: +44 20 7928 1166Fax: +44 20 7928 7099Email: figo@figo.org

The International Federation of Gynecology andObstetrics is a UK Registered Charity (No 1113263;Company No 5498067) registered in England andWales. The Registered Office is shown above.

Administrative Director:Sean O’Donnell

FIGO Officers:

President:Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran (United Kingdom)

President-Elect:Professor Chittaranjan Narahari Purandare (India)

Past-President:Professor Gamal Serour (Egypt)

Vice President:Professor Ernesto Castelazo Morales (Mexico)

Honorary Secretary:Professor Gian Carlo Di Renzo (Italy)

Honorary Treasurer:Professor Wolfgang Holzgreve (Switzerland)

Chief Executive:Professor Hamid Rushwan (Sudan/UK) (Ex-officio)

Readers are invited to refer items for consideration byemail to communications@figo.org no later thanFriday 17 October 2014 for the next issue.

The views expressed in articles in the FIGO Newsletterare those of the authors and do not necessarily reflectthe official viewpoint of FIGO.

Produced and edited by Alexandra Gilpin at the FIGOSecretariat © FIGO 2014.

International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

New FIGO website goes live!

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PEOPLE INTRODUCING THE NEW FIGO ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR

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association for over 10 years, and where Ilearned about governance and administrationwithin membership-led organisations. I live withmy civil partner, Keith, and our dog, Bertie, in avillage called Englefield Green which is in Surrey,just outside London. I also make a superbcocktail!

What attracted you about workingfor FIGO?I have always been attracted to organisationswith a strong mission or cause, whether relatedto the rights of children and young people oreducation. I was drawn to the fact that, throughworking at FIGO, I would be contributing towomen and newborns’ health and rights. It isimportant to me to know that my efforts withinthe workplace are ultimately having a positiveimpact within society. Also, when I saw the role inmore detail, I knew I had to apply as it was areally strong match for my skillset – I felt I couldmake a significant contribution to the work of theorganisation.

What do you see as the mainopportunities/challenges ahead forus in the next few years?I feel the initial challenge for me, personally, willbe to live up to the high standards set by mypredecessor, Bryan – a tough act to followindeed! I think some of the key challenges in thefuture, for all NGOs, will be our responses to theimpacts of increasing geopolitical unrest, climatechange and population growth. One of the mainopportunities for us is to spread the word aboutthe fantastic achievements of FIGO, largelythrough the efforts of the volunteer contributors.In addition, we have a superb opportunity withrespect to the FIGO staff who have impressedme greatly, and whom I would like to thank forhaving made me feel so very welcome in the role.

How do you switch off from thedemands of the job?Fortunately, I live next to Windsor Great Park, oneof the most beautiful parklands in the UK, andwhich also boasts Virginia Water Lake. The five-mile hike around the lake, with our dog in tow,certainly clears the head and helps to put thingsinto perspective. Having always loved music, Iam a massive fan of Spotify and iTunes and I caneasily switch off for hours – much to the chagrinof my partner!

Sean O’Donnell New DeputyManaging Editorstarts at IJGOFIGO’s official publication, the InternationalJournal of Gynecology & Obstetrics (IJGO),has recently welcomed Abi Cantor into thefold as its new Deputy Managing Editor. Abihas excellent experience in scientific,medical and technical publishing; she joinsFIGO straight from the Lancet journals,before which she was at PLOS [PublicLibrary of Science].

Abi said: ‘Theresearch published in IJGO is of crucialimportance towomen’s health and well-beingworldwide, and I feelprivileged to be ableto contribute to thiswork, and especiallythe publication of

papers from low- and middle-incomecountries of all sizes. To play a part in theday-to-day running of the journal is excitingand I look forward to seeing it develop in thefuture.’

IJGO Managing Editor Clare Addington said:‘I’m delighted to have Abi join IJGO. She hasgreat experience and enthusiasm and I lookforward to involving her in journal decisionsand discussions as we take IJGO forward.’

New IJGOsupplementreleased – freeonline accessThe International Journal of Gynecology &Obstetrics (IJGO) has released a newsupplement: Prevention of Unsafe Abortionand its Consequences (July 2014), guestedited by Professor Anibal Faúndes, Chairof the FIGO Working Group for thePrevention of Unsafe Abortion.

It is free to access online atwww.ijgo.org/issue/ S0020-7292(14)X0006-8.

In addition, areminder that IJGOhas now launched aniPad app, a new, freebenefit to FIGOmembers andsubscribers.

Clinicians and healthprofessionals globallyare increasingly usingtheir mobiles toaccess information‘on the move’, so

this important newfeature is a welcomeenhancement. Formore details, visit thislink: www.ijgo.org/content/ mobileaccessinstructions.

Follow IJGO on Twitter at@IJGOLive

FIGO Cancer Report available to purchaseonline at www.figo.org

The latest edition of the ‘FIGO Cancer Report’ isavailable to purchase online, through PayPal, at acost of £27.50:

Go to: www.figo.org/figo-cancer-report-2012.

It brings together in one publication updates on thestaging and management guidelines on each sitespecific gynecological cancer, and GestationalTrophoblastic Disease; and separate chapters from adeveloped and developing world perspective onpathology, chemotherapy, and radiation.

In future editions, data collected from institutions fromall parts of the globe will be presented. The systemthat has been used for collecting international data ongynecological malignancies is being reconstructedand modernised and will be available at the nextWorld Congress in 2015.

Please contact ijgo@figo.org for further informationabout the Report.

As many of you will know, Mr Sean O’Donnellrecently joined us as the new FIGOAdministrative Director, replacing Mr BryanThomas, who has now retired.

Sean has substantial senior management levelexperience in the charity, public and highereducation sectors including, most recently, RoyalHolloway, University of London. He has alsoworked in the past with Save the Children andAction for Children. He has significant experienceof charity governance, administration,membership organisations, managingprofessional relationships, implementation ofpolicy and management experience acrosshuman resources and finance.

Sean attended his first FIGO Executive Boardmeeting in July, enabling him to familiarise himselfwith the governance and constitution of theorganisation.

Sean, welcome to FIGO; tell us alittle about your backgroundWell, I guess I am a true Celt with an Irish familybackground, but raised in Glasgow, Scotland. Imoved to London over 25 years ago, originally towork in the UK music industry (within A&R/Artist& Repertoire) – I worked within the businessdivisions of major record labels such as RCA andChrysalis Records. I then switched to RetailOperations and eventually became Head of Retailat Save the Children UK, which was an incrediblyrewarding experience. I next moved to RoyalHolloway where I managed their student

Abi Cantor

In ternat iona l Federat ion of Gynecology and Obstet r ics | September 2014

Professor Anibal Faúndes

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7In ternat iona l Federat ion of Gynecology and Obstet r ics | September 2014

FIGO EVENTS

Diary Dates13th European Congress of Paediatric andAdolescent Gynaecology17–20 September 2014, London, UKwww.rcog.org.uk/events/13th-european-congress-paediatric-and-adolescent-gynaecology44th Annual Meeting of the German Societyfor Immunology (DGfI)17–20 September 2014, Bonn, Germanywww.immunology-conference.de2014 International Conference on Stillbirth,SIDS and Baby Survival18–21 September 2014, Amsterdam, the Netherlandswww.stillbirthalliance.org16th World Meeting on Sexual Medicine8–12 October 2014, São Paulo, Brazilwww.issmslams2014.org18th SIS World Congress on BreastHealthcare16–19 October 2014, Florida, USAwww2.kenes.com/sis/Pages/Home.aspx

Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition 15th Meeting23–24 October 2014, Mexico City, Mexicowww.rhsupplies.org/news-events/membership-meetings/fifteenth-meeting-mexico-city-2014.htmlXIX World Congress of the InternationalSociety for the Study of Hypertension inPregnancy26–29 October 2014, New Orleans, USAwww.isshp.org15th Biennial Meeting of the InternationalGynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS)8–11 November 2014, Melbourne, Australiawww2.kenes.com/igcs/Pages/Home.aspx

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FIGO-SAFOG-SLCOG Conference30 October–2 November 2014,Colombo, Sri Lankawww.figo-safog2014colombo.org

FIGO-SAFOG-SLCOGjoint conference

A special jointconferenceorganised byFIGO and theSouth AsianFederation ofObstetrics andGynaecology(SAFOG), incollaborationwith the Sri

Lanka College of Obstetricians &Gynaecologists (SLCOG), will be held at theBandaranaike Memorial InternationalConference Hall, at Colombo, Sri Lanka,from 30 October to 2 November 2014.

Visit www.figo-safog2014colombo.org forfull details.

Social MediaTwitter: @FIGO_2015The official hashtag for the XXI FIGO WorldCongress is #FIGO2015 – please use it to shareall your tweets about the Congress.

Congress Facebook page:www.facebook.com/FIGO2015Vancouver.

Asia Pacific Congress on Controversies in Gynecology, Infertility & Ultrasound(COGI)20–22 November 2014, Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnamwww.cogi.org/vietnam/welcome.aspxJoint meeting on ‘Hot Topics in Obstetricsand Gynecology’ – Royal College ofObstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)and Sidra Medical and Research Center30 November–2 December 2014, Doha, Qatarwww.sidraevents.org15th Biennial Scientific Conference of the Society of Obstetricians andGynecologists5–7 December 2014, Islamabad, Pakistanwww.sogp.org

20156th World Congress on Women’s Mental Health22–25 March 2015, Tokyo, Japanwww.congre.co.jp/iawmh2015

FIGO accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of the external event information. Inclusion of any event does not necessarily mean that FIGO either endorses or supports it (unless otherwise stated).

World Congress website open for business!Congress Countdown datesAbstract SubmissionOpens 15 October, 2014

Registration and HousingOpens 15 October, 2014

Abstract Submission Deadline15 March, 2015

Abstract Acceptance Notification30 April, 2015

Early Registration Deadline15 May, 2015

Regular Registration Deadline31 August, 2015

Congress Dates4–9 October, 2015

www.figo2015.org now contains a wealth ofuseful information on the next FIGO WorldCongress, taking place in Vancouver from 4–9October 2015, including details on theScientific Programme, registration andaccommodation, and comprehensivesponsorship options.

RegistrationDetails of the registration and payment methodswill be available in October onwww.figo2015.org.

Registration feeEarly registration: CAD 1000Regular registration: CAD 1150On-site registration: CAD 1300

Delegate registration fee will include: Admissionto sessions and exhibition hall, coffee breaks,choice of social programme, delegate bag andCongress literature.

Keep up to date with the special CongressNewsletter – sign up now at www.figo2015.orgto be alerted to new developments as theyhappen.

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