Vietnam Airlines will support the transportation of international experts to Vietnam to attend the WAAM 2024 Conference (Photo: Facing The World)
This is the first WAAM Conference to be held in Southeast Asia, expected to attract the participation of about 1,000 delegates globally.
The conference is jointly held by the UK medical charity Facing The World (FTW), in collaboration with anesthesiologists from 108 Central Military Hospital, Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital, and Hong Ngoc Hospital with support from Vietnam Airlines – the national flag carrier.
The WAAM 2024 conference brings together international experts in airway management - a practice area of anesthesiology that aims to limit the adverse effects of anesthesia on the respiratory system by keeping airway clear and airy, ensuring adequate oxygen supply and ventilation.
The event aims to create links links between airway societies, special interest groups, airway fellowship providers, training centres and airway related charities as well as a repository for local, national, and international airway societies, guidelines, statements, airway related education, research projects, research opportunities and grants.
The conference also featured presentations from senior anesthesia experts from the world and Vietnam, discussing topics related to airway management and treatment to minimize the risk of death.
FTW CEO Katrin Kandel said by facilitating the first WAAM conference in Vietnam, FTW and its partners expect to create opportunities to share medical knowledge and skills through professional exchange and training programmes around the world.
Katrin Kandel, who is a board advisor to WAAM, said the organisation of the event in Vietnam is the result of Vietnamese doctors visiting experts in the UK under FTW- funded training programmes and seeing the benefits of guidelines for difficult airway management. She added the Vietnamese doctors attended the first two conferences held by WAAM, and building on this, FTW has convinced the organisation to hold the first ever conference outside of western world in conjunction with FTW’s Vietnamese partner hospitals, namely Hong Ngocc, Viet Duc and 108, as well as with the Vietnamese Anaesthetic Society.
Katrin Kandel along with WAAM believes this true collaboration will mark the start of many such annual conferences in different regions around the world.
WAAM is a not-for-profit grouping that aims to provide a link between Airway Societies and establish relationships with other organisations concerned with airway management. Previous world meetings of the Alliance have been attended by thousands of healthcare professionals from over 70 countries.
FTW is a UK-registered medical charitable foundation set up in 2002 to treat children from developing countries with craniofacial defects. The foundation started operations in Vietnam in 2007. It has so far helped provide surgeries for thousands children with craniofacial defects across the nation and sent over 200 Vietnamese doctors to world class medical institutions in the UK, Canada, the US and Australia for training.
