Greeting to Ostomates and website browsers of the IOA site wherever you are in the north where autumn is on the way, or in the south where it is springtime.

Below there are brief items of news from the three regions.
My thanks go to the presidents for supplying the below information about their region’s activities.

World Ostomy Day activities have started this past week and many member associations and local chapters/clubs/societies will celebrate this day on October the 6th.

Remember updated information is on all regional websites as well as the IOA site.

The Theme for this day is “Let’s Be Heard“.

It appears that this day will be a truly global event with events in South, Central and North America, in Africa and across Europe and the Middle East as well as throughout Asia and the South Pacific.
See the website for the details of the competitions promoted by Coloplast, Hollister and ConvaTec.

Please post the activities on your websites so we can share what we are all doing.
Remember our aim is to inform the Public about Ostomy.

Ria Smeijers president@ostomyeurope.org and Anne Demick info@iasupport.org are the WOD coordinators and contact people.

UOAC Conference 15-19 August

I was privileged to be able to atten this wonderful conference. Thank you Canada (UOAC) for planning and successfully holding such an event that had a range of presenters on many topics.

It was great to renew old friendships and make many new friends.
I delivered an a address titled “Changes, Challenges and Successes” and also a brief greeting at the opening.

It was most opportune that I could participate in the Awards luncheon where it was possible to present Di Bracken with the prestigious Archie Vintsky Award which had been finalized about two weeks before the Conference.
See below further details about this award.

Kenya Project:

Final planning is underway for a support programme for ostomates and nurses in Nairobi with the support of the Dansac Foundation.

20/40

A survey is presently being prepared by Ronaldo 20/40 convener and will be sent to ostomates in this age group soon.
There are many reports that Ronaldo is receiving to suggest there is increased activity around the associations.

Ostomy News from the Regions

EOA

In the Netherlands summer is gone already. Days are grey and it is drizzling at the moment of writing this.
But that means it is the best time to inform you all about the ins and outs of EOA.

Just a few days to go and it is World Ostomy Day 2012. It is a busy time for most of you to organize all activities and meetings for the 6th of October or somewhere around this date.

Nordic Meeting

In August I was invited to the Nordic meeting in Trondheim, Norway. This meeting is organized every two years by the boards of Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Denmark and Norway. The members of these boards share their plans for the future and meet each other. This is an extraordinary event in Europe and it was a privilege for me to open this meeting.

Archie Vinitsky Award

On August 18, 2012 in Canada during the United Ostomy Association of Canada, UOAC conference in Toronto, Barry Maughan, IOA-CC chairman presented the Archie Vinitsky Award to the last President of IOA, Di Bracken.

The Archie Vinitsky Award is presented to a person, who has given the most outstanding voluntary service at international and regional level in support of activities of IOA.
On behalf of all our EOA members I sent congratulations to Di Bracken.

Donation COPA Denmark

The EOA received a financial donation from COPA Denmark. This donation is a part of the profit made by COPA concerning the 60th year celebration in 2011. I wrote a ‘thank-you’ message to COPA. We promise we will spend this generous gift very careful.

New Association in Africa

I can proudly inform you about establishment of a new association in Kenya. This association is called Stoma World Kenya and is based in Nairobi. There are already 167 members and the association is still growing. We wish the chairman Mr. T.S. Devgun and the Board all the success and good luck.

World Ostomy Day 2012

“Let’s be Heard”. In 1993 Professor Dr. Gerhard Englert proposed the idea to organize a so called World Ostomy Day. The aim was to draw attention for people with a stoma and pouch, their quality of life, on regional, national and international level. In the beginning of October many associations in the whole world organize activities and meetings. This year we celebrate the World Ostomy Day for the 7th time. If you want to know more about these great events have a look on our website.

On the website of IOA you can read about the special WOD activities offered by Coloplast, ConvaTec and Hollister.

I am invited by FAIS, Italy to attend their WOD 2012 gathering in Montesilvano. I will bring your greetings and best wishes to our Italian friends.

European Parliament

In my previous message from 10 July (see below) I informed you about my meeting with Eucomed. As a spin-off of this meeting I received an invitation from the European Parliament for a meeting in Brussels on 10 October. I will meet some Euro policy makers with “Health Care” in their portfolio. This is a great opportunity to tell these politicians about the life and needs of all ostomates in Europe.

I will put our theme “Let’s be Heard” into practice!

EOA-EC Meeting

The EOA-EC will have their next meeting on 10 – 11 November 2012 in Haarlem, The Netherlands.
If your association want to put an item on the agenda, please let me know as soon as possible.

I wish you all the best with your work for your association and the ostomates in your country.

And above all: “Let’s be Heard!”

OAA

Jorge Vargas Morales, NCACOA’s Vice President has organized a Central American observance of World Ostomy 2012. Confirmed attendees to the celebration that will be held in Tegucigalpa, Honduras include ostomates from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama as well as Honduras. Jorge will present an ISCAP Program and he and his wife will distribute ostomy supplies for children recently donated by FOW-USA.

Previously in the Quarter Jorge assisted in the organization and affiliation of 2 more associations in the western part of Mexico. These are: OSTOJAL, from Guadalajara, Jalisco State and OSTOBAJIO from León, Guanajuato State.

Recently Jorge travelled to many cities in the Central American countries of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica where he provided training, information and support to ostomates and government health professionals who have had limited information until now. With his encouragement Costa Rica is likely to form a national association.

Martha de Nieves, President of the Ostomy Association of Puerto Rico, is working closely with NCACOA President, George Salamy, to organize two ostomy patient stoma management seminars in the Dominican Republic, one in the city of Santo Domingo, the other in the city of Santiago de los Caballeros. Funding has been received from ConvaTec that will support most of this project. These meetings will be held in the 1st Quarter of 2013. While in attendance at these meetings Ken Aukett, OAA President, and George Salamy will take the opportunity to begin organization of a national ostomy association in the Dominican Republic.

In other NCACOA news, congratulations are extended to its Secretary, Janet Paquet on her election in August as president of member association UOACanada. In South America funding was provided to ALADO by OAA for for stoma nursing training programs in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile.

Plans are also underway to convene a Regional Conference on October 7th to the 12th, 2013, in Cordoba, Argentina. In addition to regional leadership meetings, the conference will provide a forum for stoma nurse and patient educational workshops and an opportunity for them to meet with representatives of the ostomy product manufacturing community.

OAA has two active websites: One in English text: www.OstomyAmericas.org , the other featured in Spanish managed by ALADO www.OstomiaAmericas.org.

News about the Archie Vinitsky Award will be mentioned elsewhere in Barry Maughan’s, but the members of ALADO and NCACOA are very proud of the accomplishments of the recipient, a woman who may be small in stature but a giant indeed, a “Favourite Daughter” of the Americas, Di Bracken.

ASPOA

World Ostomy Day.
We know member associations are participating in varied programmes for World Ostomy day on 6th October. I hope all these go well.

New Associaitons

Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia plans are in place to become a new member association on World Ostomy Day 6th October. 2012.

Uzbekistan
We have learned that this week of a new of a new Ostomy Association near Tashkent in Uzbekistan and contact is being established.

Philippines
In December Dr Harikesh Buch and Prof Carlos Pezcoller will visit the Philippines to carry out a training programme sponsored by “Lion’s For Stoma Care”. More hospitals are becoming part of a wider network of supporting ostomates there

Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia

Dr Buch returned to Singapore and met with the Singapore Cancer Society to help form a National Association similar to what has been taking place in the Philippines as well as meeting with ET’s.

He has again been there this week for another programme and continued on to Taiwan (3 cities) and Malaysia (KL) where he is supporting WOD programmes as well as giving lectures to healthcare professionals and ostomates about visitor training, IOA, managing and living with a stoma, the development of ostomy care in Asia and associated training. He was interviewed by newspapers in Malaysia and an article has just been published there as well as in Singapore relating to his previous visit. He is participating in 2 radio talk shows in Malaysia as well this time.

All of the above activity has been supported by Coloplast’s distributing companies for which we are very grateful.

Iran

Iran Ostomy Society’s plans to invite neighbouring countries Doctors to assist them to help establish Ostomy associations in their own country are moving forward. They have this planned early next year.

Kindest regards to all,