Prof. Karen Flegg

President of World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA)
Associate Professor Rural Clinical School, Australian National University

Dr. Karen Flegg is a Specialist General Practitioner, from Australia. Her clinical medical practice has mostly been in rural and very remote areas of Australia. She is an Associate Professor and Academic Lead in the Rural Clinical School, of the Australian National University (ANU). She is currently the President of WONCA. As WONCA President she promotes Good Governance, Greening (Planetary Health) and Growth for WONCA.

Prof. Flegg has had a varied career including in Management, Academic, and Clinical endeavours. She has held high level roles in Primary Health Service delivery, policy and planning, and until three years ago she was the Director of Medical Services in the Central Australian Health Service preparing for COVID-19 in remote desert communities. Clinically, she has a strong interest in Aboriginal Health, women’s health, and geriatrics. Teaching and mentoring the next generation of specialised general practitioners is an ongoing passion.

Şeyma Handan Akyön

Dr. Şeyma Handan Akyön is a young family doctor and researcher in Turkiye who completed a specialization program in 2023. She was honored with the "Best National Family Medicine Specialist Thesis" award in 2023. She gained experience in various primary healthcare settings and currently provide medical support for homebound patients in a home care service. She also serves as the EYFDM Turkiye Event Coordinator and co-lead the EYFDM Digital Health & Artificial Intelligence (AI) Special Interest Group. Her passion lies in improving primary healthcare through digital innovations, AI solutions, and global collaboration. Dr. Akyön has presented research and organized workshops at international congresses, sharing insights on AI’s role in medicine. She has developed several interdisciplinary AI-based web applications to enhance clinical training and patient care. She has co-authored several AI-related medical publications and continue exploring how AI can enhance healthcare. Dr. Akyön is currently researching AI-powered education models to improve clinical training.

Jim Campbell 

is the Director, Health Workforce at the WHO. He oversees the development and implementation of evidence and tools to support countries in the education, employment and retention of the health and care workforce.  He oversees collaborative networks and partnerships with academia, civil society, government institutions, professional associations, and unions, with particular focus on data exchange, digital technologies/AI and equality for women and youth.  Jim is graduate of the University of Bristol and the University of Leeds, and an Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. 

Hans Henri P. Kluge

Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge of Belgium embarked on his role as WHO Regional Director for Europe on February 1, 2020, shortly before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. Since then, he and his team have led WHO’s response to this health emergency across 53 countries encompassing Europe and Central Asia. Lessons learnt from the crisis, along with other key health priorities, are encapsulated in the WHO European Programme of Work, which reflects a dual track approach to health: Preparing better for mounting health emergencies even as countries strengthen essential health systems and services including for non-communicable diseases. Having qualified in medicine, surgery and obstetrics, Dr Kluge’s extensive global experience includes seminal years with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Belgium amid health and humanitarian crises in Liberia and Somalia, as well as serving as the Moscow-based Regional TB Advisor for countries formerly part of the Soviet Union. He joined WHO in 1999, first as TB/HIV Project Manager at WHO Russia, and then at WHO Myanmar as TB Medical Officer, eventually becoming Team Leader for the HIV, TB and malaria unit. Dr Kluge moved to the WHO European Regional Office in 2009, and a year later was appointed Director of the Division of Health Systems and Public Health, as well as Special Representative of the Regional Director to Combat Multi/Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis. In his current role, Dr Kluge advocates all the more strongly with governments and funders for health systems strengthening, prioritizing primary health care as a cornerstone of public health. “For me, universal health coverage is more than a slogan,” he says. “Strategic, practical investments, grounded in human rights and propelled by political will, can transform societies and countries – accelerating the achievement of health for all.” 

Cindy L.K. Lam, MH, JP

MBBS (HK), MD(HK), FRCGP, MIGP, FHKAM (Family Medicine), Specialist in Family Medicine

Cindy Lam is Emeritus Professor and Honorary Clinical Professor of the Department of Family Medicine & Primary Care, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong. Cindy is also a family doctor who has served thousands of patients over 40 years of clinical practice. She is an advocate for quality primary care through family medicine teaching, training, research and service innovation. She was a founding faculty of the academic General Practice Unit which became the Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care in the University of Hong Kong. Her work in academic family medicine was honoured by the Danny D. B. Ho endowed Professorship in Family Medicine from 2012 to 2024. She is Chief Censor and Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong College of Family Physicians. She has served on many Government Boards and Committees, notably as Co-Chair of the Grant Review Board of the Health and Medical Research Fund and Convenor of the Primary Care Directory Task Force. Internationally, she was past Asia Pacific vice-chair of the WONCA Working Party on Mental Health and a founder of the Asia Pacific Academic Primary Care Group that nurtures young leaders. Her research interests are evaluation of quality and outcomes of primary care, patient reported outcome assessment and primary mental health care. She has published 450 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and delivered over 200 invited talks.

Mary McCarthy

Mary McCarthy has been a rural GP in Shropshire, England, for more years than she cares to remember. She has also worked in Diabetic Clinics in Shropshire hospitals and spoken on diabetic care in the US and in Europe. She has represented the UK in UEMO as head of delegation and Vice President and has contributed to the European Medicines Agency and the One Health Network for AMR.

She is currently President of the British Medical Association.

Tracey Naledi

Associate Professor Tracey Naledi is a Public Health Medicine Specialist and Deputy Dean for Social Accountability and Health Systems at the University of Cape Town. Her work spans government and civil society in South Africa and Botswana, focusing on equity-driven health systems and social determinants of health. She contributed to the WHO’s Implementing the Primary Health Care Approach: A Primer, shaping global PHC strategies. She is the founding chairperson of Tekano an organization dedicated to health equity in South Africa and serves on multiple health boards. Naledi is a key advocate for translating research into practice to improve population health outcomes.

Richard G. Roberts

Doctor Roberts is a Professor Emeritus and past Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Wisconsin, USA. A family physician and attorney, Doctor Roberts practiced full-scope Family Medicine for 35+ years in rural communities. He cared for people of all ages; performed endoscopy and surgery; and provided care in the home, nursing home, hospice, and hospital, including in birthing and intensive care units.

Professor Roberts has focused his scholarship on quality improvement, guidelines, patient safety, primary care redesign, and human factors science. He has served on more than 3 dozen national and international guideline panels. He is a certified professional in patient safety (CPPS). Doctor Roberts is a Past President of WONCA and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). He is a member of the WONCA Core Group on Human Factors.

Andrée Rochfort

Dr. Andrée Rochfort is Director of Quality Improvement in the Irish College of GPs, and Assistant Clinical Professor at University College Dublin. She was president of EQUIP until early 2025, the European network for quality and safety in WONCA Europe www.qualityfamilymedicine.eu. Andrée is a family physician with over thirty years’ experience. She is a founding member of the Sustainability & Planetary Health WG of the Irish College of GPs, the WONCA Europe SIG for Doctor Health & Wellbeing, and Irish Society of Lifestyle Medicine. She has qualifications in lifestyle medicine, occupational medicine, medical education, and Leadership and Management. As a medical educator, and international presenter, her interests include human factors for quality and safety, physician health and healthcare, occupational medicine, patient empowerment, lifestyle medicine, sustainable healthcare, and telehealth. She has published, co-authored and contributed to articles, guidelines, book chapters and is a medical book editor. Andrée is married to Michael, and they have four adult daughters.