To all members of the International Ostomy Association

Well, while 2020 has been a bit of a disaster right around the world there is always a silver lining and this is that there is a vaccine here now and will be distributed in the new year. Many Associations have had to find new ways of keeping in contact with their members over the last few months and I am sure that we have lost many of our people around the world to Covid-19 and they will be sorely missed however adversity can also bring people together again and I would think that many new friendships will have been created as well. Down at the bottom of the world here in New Zealand we have been very lucky in having a Prime Minister who acted rapidly when infections started and we have kept the problem to a minimum and are now looking forward to a much better 2021. I would like to think that the rest of the Ostomy world will also be able to pick itself up and start things off again. I always believe that in adversity there is opportunity to reform, progress and move forward. Many associations have been forced to hold their meetings by Zoom and this was the way that the ASPOA held their House of Delegates meeting a few weeks ago and this was an excellent meeting. The EOA will be holding their HOD in early 2021 as a face to face event and the Americas have already had theirs.

In October 2021 the EOA are organising the next World Ostomy Day and as the 2018 organiser I cannot emphasis enough how important this event is to the Ostomy Community. It takes a lot of organising but the results are well worth the effort both for the organisers, the companies who back the event and the Ostomates themselves so I urge everyone to participate next year and use the opportunity to promote their organisations and Ostomy generally. I am sure that the supply companies will make it well worth the effort as they have always done.

I would like to acknowledge the other members of the IOA CC such as Ria Smeijers our Treasurer, Ken Aukett who picked up the Secretaries job and who has also helped mentor me on things that I was not aware of, Martha Velez De Nieves, Mariela Acero, Maria-Jose Bouey and Jon Thorkelsson. Late this year Dr Harikesh Buch from India stood down from the ASPOA and the IOA CC and his place has been taken by Dr Allen Nash from Australia. Allen is the new President of the Australian Council of Stoma Associations and I would like to welcome Allen to the IOA CC.

It is my intention to build a new website for the IOA in 2021 as the current one is now past its use by date! So watch this space!