World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists ®

The World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) is a unique organization in that it is a society of societies. By virtue of membership in a national society, an anesthesiologist is automatically a member of WFSA.

The WFSA was formally constituted at the 1^st World Congress of Anaesthesiologists held in 1955 in Scheveningen, the Netherlands. There were 28 founding societies. There are now 122 member societies with Ethiopia, Georgia, Ivory Coast, Laos, Libya and Rwanda having joined in March 2008 at the 14^th World Congress held in Cape Town, South Africa.

The objectives of the WFSA are to make available the highest standards of anesthesia, pain treatment, trauma management and resuscitation to all peoples of the world. These goals are achieved through the work of the WFSA standing committees - education, publications, safety and quality - all of whose reports are available on the website. Subspecialty committees on obstetric anesthesia, pain, pediatric anesthesia, trauma and resuscitation provide a focus on their particular areas of expertise.

The WFSA Foundation is charged with raising sufficient funds to enable WFSA to meet its goals and objectives. This is a constant challenge. With this new website, donations can now be made on line by credit card. It is hoped this will facilitate the process and encourage more people to support the work of the WFSA.

WFSA maintains relationships with other organizations including the World Health Organization. WHO has just launched a new initiative entitled Safe Surgery Saves Lives. Anesthesia is ranked as one of the most important contributors to safe surgery. WFSA will be working with WHO to decrease mortality from surgery and anesthesia.

A World Congress of Anaesthesiologists®is held every four years. The next will be in Buenos Aires in 2012. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet colleagues from all over the world. Be sure to mark your calendars now.