Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. First of all, I'd like to thank Professor Isabel Germano for the kind invitation to participate in this educational activity of WFNS. My topic is in regard to the role of WFNS Foundation in the context of education of neurosurgery around the world. As introduction, we can see this article published 2019 in regard to the global neurosurgery and unmet needs, and we have to say that in order to give the appropriate provision of essential neurosurgical care all over the world, no less than 23,000 neurosurgeons would be necessary for that task. I think that this is important if we take into account that the basic neurosurgical pathology as traumatic brain injury or hydrocephalus very prevalent in Africa and Central America of Asia are important aspects of neurosurgery that we should solve if we think in the context of global neurosurgery. Also global neurosurgery is considered a social responsibility. See this editorial from James Rutka, and this social responsibility for us has a lot of meaning if we look at the WFNS Foundation mission. Mission is the commitment with education, training, and provision of neurosurgical technology in developing countries trying to become the leader neurosurgical organization in the provision and promotion of education and neurosurgical care. Let me introduce to all of you the structure of WFNS Foundation. We have an executive board I'm very proud to direct along with Professor Selvadei, Morita, Sami, Isabel Germano, Yoko Kato, and Mudi Qureshi. We also have an advisory board, and it's important to mention prominent neurosurgeons that before us went through this path of WFNS Foundation, Professor Basso, Sami, Pepe Martín Rodríguez, trying to improve, as I mentioned before, education and neurosurgical care. I think that we have to mention a strategic plan of the foundation, the vice, and in that context, the three main activities, educational activities, the promotion of the WFNS network of training center, and the provision of neurosurgical instruments, and so. If we go back to the educational activities, we have to mention the training courses, basically organizing underprivileged areas by Professor Germano and Professor Kinouchi, co-chairing the educational committee of WFNS. We also have courses from scientific committees that are coordinated by Dr. David Aldelson, and we also have to mention specific actions as hydrocephalus project run for more than 15 years by Dr. Di Rocco and Dr. Chooks with very fruitful results. This is one of the activities we can see here during the WFNS 2019 International Symposium, see Dr. Germano and my very good friend, Dr. Fuente, and if we go to the WFNS training center, we have three categories, full program training center, postgraduate training center, and short-term specific fellowship center for just a period of four, six months in which fellows are trained specifically in spine or functional neurosurgery or some specific topics. Going back to the full program training center, young colleagues from developing countries are coming just to spend a five-year cycle becoming full qualified neurosurgeons in one of these centers, Rabat, Recife, Curitiba, Nairobi, Dakar, Algiers, Zimbabwe. WFNS is paying the scholarship of these young colleagues, in some cases, Recife or Curitiba. The center itself is providing the funds for the scholarship, and it's important to mention that that full program centers are under the umbrella of continental global programs, needless to mention the Africa 100 project just initiated years ago by Professor Sami, and it is also a great honor and satisfaction for me just to introduce to all of you the recently approved China-Africa project in which Lin Feng and Professor Kureishi, President of China, are establishing the framework for the education of young African neurosurgeons in China. If we go to the post-graduate training center, we are referring to more than 30 centers all around the world. You can see more or less the distribution. These are centers that are accepting young fellows that are in the training program of neurosurgery just right after finishing the training program, and they can spend a variable period of several months under the umbrella of WFNS and the commitment of the provision of food and accommodation, or in some cases, a scholarship. This is a very attractive program, very much requested with a lot of satisfaction among trainees and also a lot of satisfaction and commitments among the center. If you want to visit WFNS.org, the foundation website, you can see the way people can make an application, and if you go to this online application, you can see the success because almost 800 applications have been done to spend a period of fellowship in this network all around the world. Interesting also to mention that very easily qualified centers may join this network of centers. These are basic requirements. You can get through visiting the website of WFNS, and it would be great if we can increase the number of WFNS training centers because this is a program very much requested by the young neurosurgeons all around developing countries. This is also a great satisfaction for me to mention our center in Malaga, Carlos Salles University Hospital in Malaga. Let me introduce to all of you Dr. Saber from Baghdad, that after going through a very difficult personal period and professional period, stay among us for a while, and you can see Dr. Rahma, a retired anesthesiologist in Costa del Sol area, Malaga, who has been funding the stage and the fellowship of Dr. Saber among us. This is a wonderful program. Important also to mention that these are not isolated activities because among our priorities, we have been trying to identify areas with limited neurosurgical resources or even without any neurosurgical care, and we have been trying to do that by means of the Neurosurgical Global Map. You can visit that at our website. I have to mention Dr. Kipar, that has been very hard working in that field, and by means of this Global Map, you can visit remote areas. This is Oromia, this is Ethiopia, and you can see the need, the neurosurgical and med needs in those remote areas. So we can identify areas in need. We try to focus in that areas just to train neurosurgeons in the full training center, and after that, neurosurgeons are going back to their place of origin, sometimes establishing neurosurgery. So WFNS Foundation is providing a full operating room with basic instrument, microscope, drills, endoscope, and so on. And of course, after this initiative, there is a continuous interaction with WFNS Foundation Center, and it is also for me a pleasure to let you know that in a few months, some committee that is trying to gather all these young pioneers in neurosurgery, this committee of young pioneers in developing countries is going to be created. And this is the way Dr. Ben Okanga, coming from Kenya, went to Rabat. After that, he went to Kenya, Nairobi, spent a full year's training program with Professor Qureshi. He got the complete qualification in neurosurgery. He went to Mombasa area, north of Kenya, more than 5 million inhabitants without any neurosurgical care. And after that, at the Mombasa Coastal Hospital, a neurosurgical unit run by Dr. Ben Okanga has been created. And this is more or less the scheme we are following in WFNS Foundation in terms of education and also trying to fulfill these unmet needs in neurosurgical care. I'd like to finish my presentation talking about the place and just preparing this talk. This is Malaga, Costa del Sol, in Spain, south of Europe, where Pablo Picasso, the famous artist, was born. This is a self-portrait of him, cubist art, that was what really made him famous. But you have to know that when he was young, he was very much devoted to the hyper-reality realistic painting. And this is one picture belonging to that time. He was 16 when he painted Science and Compassion. You can see the ill mother, you can see the nun holding the kid, and this is the doctor looking after the sick mother. Science and Compassion could be more or less the summary of the goals of WFNS Foundation. And with this very nice picture from Pablo Picasso, I'd like to thank again Professor Germano and the organizers for the wonderful opportunity to take part in this meeting. Thank you very much.

WFNS Foundation

neurosurgery education

underprivileged areas

training centers

neurosurgical instruments