Golden Jubilee 50th volume of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Research

I am most grateful to the Editor in Chief of the JOGR journal for requesting me to review the past of the Asia Oceania Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AOFOG) in the Golden Jubilee issue of the journal. AOFOG is a regional organization dedicated to advancing the field of obstetrics and gynecology and developing interaction and harmony among the member societies. Founded in 1957, AOFOG aims to promote and improve women's health care across Asia and Oceania through education, research, and professional collaboration. AOFOG comprises member societies from various countries in the Asia and Oceania region, currently numbering 23, making it a diverse and influential organization in the field of women's health. It was in 1954 in Geneva the idea of forming the Asia Oceania Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology as the Asian Division of the International Federation of Gynecology & Obstetrics was conceived. But it was only in 1957 at the inaugural meeting held in Tokyo, it was decided that the organization should be established as the Asian Federation of Obstetrics & Gynecology, i.e., as an autonomous body that would seek affiliation, with the International Federation of Gynecology & Obstetrics at a later stage. This meeting was convened by Dr. H. de Watteville (Switzerland), Dr. Ayesa (Philippines), and Dr. Hideo Yagi (Japan). Dr. Yagi was elected as Chairman. The membership was opened to Asian countries and Australia and New Zealand joined as associate members in 1959. Under the auspices of the Philippines Obstetrical & Gynecological Society Inc, the secretariat was established in Manila. Dr. Jose Villanueva was elected as the Secretary-General. Then in 1979, at the 13th General Assembly held in Tokyo, a new constitution initiated in Bangkok was adopted. The officers at this important meeting included President Prof. Shoichi Sakamoto of Japan, Vice President Dr. Ramesh Pandit from India, and Dr. Peter Elliot from Australia the President-Elect. Prof. S. S. Ratnam of Singapore was elected Secretary General, and Prof. Suporn Koetsawang from Thailand, as Treasurer. Australia and New Zealand were accepted as full members. Thus, the Federation's name was changed to Asia & Oceania Federation of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Then the AFOG secretariat was moved to Singapore. The Membership of the Federation is open to the National Society/College, of Obstetrics and Gynecology of any country in the Asia and Oceania region. At present AOFOG has a membership of Society/College representing 23 Countries (Figure 1). Prof. W. W. Sumpaico from the Philippines was elected as Secretary General when Prof. Ratnam stepped down in 2000 to become President-elect, after holding the post of Secretary General for 21 years. Then the secretariat was moved to Manila, Philippines. Prof. Sumpaico served as secretary General for 17 years. In 2017 Dr. Rohana Haththotuwa (Sri Lanka) was elected as the Secretary General. Thus, the Secretariat was moved to Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Federation celebrated the 50th Anniversary of AOFOG in 2007, in Japan the country where it was born during the Presidency of Prof. Yuji Murata from Japan. AOFOG's administrative structure consists of the Executive Board, Committee chairs, Council and the General Assembly. Council consists of the Executive Board members, Committee chairs and the representatives of National Societies. The executive board has nine members and is headed by the President. The council meets once a year. AOFOG General Assembly comprises the council members with the National Society delegates. The general assembly meets once in 2 years during the AOFOG Congress. The activities of the AOFOG are carried out according to the constitution and the administrative manual, through the AOFOG secretariat. Both the constitution and the administrative manual have been revised by a committee chaired by the past President Dr. Ravi Chandran and this has streamlined the activities of the secretariat. Through these activities, AOFOG plays a pivotal role in advancing women's health care in the Asia and Oceania region, ensuring that healthcare professionals are well-equipped to provide high-quality care to their patients. First Asian Congress of Obstetrics & Gynecology was held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1957 from 4 to 6 April along with the formation of the Federation. The next Congress was held in Calcutta, India, on 23–26 January 1962. Thereafter till 1977 conferences were held once in 3 years. Since 1977, the conferences are held once in 2 years. The country hosting the congress is selected by an election at the General assembly. The biennial congresses bring together obstetricians, gynecologists, and other healthcare professionals to share the latest research, clinical practices, and advancements in the field. And everyone looks forward to it. The Congress has a day of pre-congress workshops followed by 3 days of the main Scientific sessions. Congresses have grown very much over the years with the participation of other international federations like Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), ACOG, RCOG, and EBCOG and international organizations like WHO, UNICEF, and UNFPA. The academic activities aimed at providing continuing medical education for healthcare professionals and enhancing the relationship with the member societies and other organizations are carried out by the various committees of the AOFOG. Committees comprise a Chairperson, committee members from various member countries and advisors. Presently, the committees are on, Gynaecologic Cancer, Minimally invasive Gynaecologic surgery, Maternal and Fetal Medicine, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Ultrasound, and Uro-Gynecology. Committees conduct educational programs in the way of workshops, seminars, webinars, and sessions at National Society conferences. Furthermore, they are involved in conducting research programs, and developing guidelines and statements that help in improving the health standards of women and children. In 2022, four working groups were formed to address the burning issues which were affecting women and the environment. They are the groups on, eliminating cervical cancer, optimizing cesarean sections, violence against women, and Environmental toxins and pollution. These working groups have been conducting many activities related to their subjects. Promoting the science and art of Obstetrics, Gynecology and reproductive health is one of the primary objectives of the Federation. As such Prof. S.S. Ratnam initiated the Journal of the Federation as the Journal of the “Asian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology” in 1970. In 1980, it was named Asia-Oceania Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, subsequently renamed in 1996 as “Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research” (JOGR), the present identity. Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecological Research is now an international peer reviewed, open access, scientific journal, providing a platform for clinicians, researchers, medical practitioners, academicians, healthcare professionals, and students around the world to publish their quality articles and supporting everyone to keep abreast and up to date with the current developments in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Initially, JOGR obtained only a few articles with difficulty. However, with the commitment of the successive editors, the journal has made steady progress, and 1812 submissions were received in 2023, not only from the Asia Oceania region but from other countries around the world. Institutions offering access to the journal have increased tremendously to 7805 by 2023. Likewise, the distribution of the journal is not only limited to the AOFOG region but also to countries including, the UK, United States, and Canada. The number of full-text article downloaded from the journal has gradually increased over the years reaching 631 957 in the year 2021. We see that the journal has come a long way from the very small beginnings reaching the publication of the 50th Volume this year. Our CONGRATULATIONS to JOGR and all the Editors in Chief (EIC) of the journal from its inception who have worked tirelessly with a commitment to bring the journal to the present position with an impact factor reaching over 1 since 2010. It reached 1.5 in 2020. EICs were Prof. S. Ratnam, Prof. Masahiko Mizuno, Prof. Kuwabara Yoshinoria, Prof. Yuji Murata, Prof. Takashi Okai, Prof. Shiro Kouzuma, Prof. Tomoyuki Fujii, Prof. Kiyoko Kato & presently Prof. Hiroaki Kajiyama. JOGR will continue to maintain high standards, publishing quality articles and supporting superior research in the region, and strive to improve the impact factor further and eradicate the submission of fraudulent papers. AOFOG Newsletter named, “AOFOG News” is published online quarter yearly. It gives an overview of all the activities carried out by the federation, including the committee activities and programs conducted in association with National Societies and other organizations. It also has a section for the news from the member societies and updates from the AOFOG journal JOGR. Newsletter is edited by the Secretary General and the AOFOG secretariat is responsible for the preparation of the newsletter and distribution. It is circulated to all the member societies of the Federation and the member societies in turn circulate them to their membership. In addition, the newsletters can be viewed through the AOFOG website. Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) continues to be a major cause contributing to maternal mortality in several of our member counties. Thus, AOFOG has been focusing on this issue since Prof. Shahida Zaidi was president in 2002 when several projects were launched. AOFOG has been conducting regular training sessions and summits to educate healthcare professionals about the prevention and treatment of PPH. During the presidency of Prof. Pisake Lumbiganon, further efforts were made in the way of releasing two statements regarding PPH. For PPH, the AOFOG recommended the use of heat-stable Carbetocin for prevention, supporting the statement on the use of uterotonics jointly by the International FIGO, International Confederation of Midwives and the WHO. Following this, the AOFOG issued a recommendation statement on the PPH E-MOTIVE Care Bundle approach to improve adherence to the WHO guidelines. The laws permitting abortions vary markedly among the AOFOG member countries but in no country is abortion completely prohibited and is allowed on some grounds. But it was noted in the year 2000, that more than 10 million abortions took place in Asia which was more than half of the Global figure. Furthermore, more than 198 000 maternal deaths due to abortions were reported from AOFOG member countries from 1995 to 2000. Taking these alarming figures into account AOFOG released a position statement on “Preventing unsafe abortions” as the Tokyo declaration and was adopted at the XXth AOCOG, in September 2007 in Tokyo, Japan, and AOFOG has been conducting educational programs to prevent maternal deaths due to unsafe abortions. Since then, AOFOG has been organizing workshops and training sessions for healthcare providers on safe abortion practices, postabortion care, and counseling. Working with National societies, AOFOG has been supporting them to develop policies that support safe and legal abortion. AOFOG has also tried to improve the legalization and access to safe abortion. In 2017, Prof. Pisake Lumbiganon raised the issue of cervical cancer as a very important problem in our Asia and Oceania region and that AOFOG should address this. In January 2018, he along with Prof. Kazunori Ochiai presented this matter at the AOFOG Executive Board meeting in Penang, Malaysia, and AOFOG adopted cervical cancer elimination as a priority. Subsequently in November 2019 during President Dr. Ravi Chandran's term, AOFOG launched the Manila Declaration to eliminate cervical cancer in order to save women's lives, during AOFOG Congress, in Manila, Philippines. Representatives from the Department of Health (Philippines) together with (AOFOG) Asia Oceania Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, (POGS) Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society and (CECAP) Cervical Cancer Prevention Network, Philippines, called the network collaborators, signed the Manila Declaration. Furthermore, the AOFOG cervical cancer elimination group was created in 2022 on the initiative of the then President Prof. Pisake Lumbiganon to enhance the activities regarding cervical cancer elimination. AOFOG has been actively engaged in efforts to eliminate cervical cancer, focusing on prevention, screening, and treatment across the region working with national societies and international organizations such as FIGO & WHO. AOFOG conducts workshops and training sessions for healthcare providers to improve their skills in screening methods such as HPV DNA testing, self-sampling & treatment of early lesions. Further programs have been conducted to promote HPV vaccination, targeting healthcare providers, policymakers, and the general public. The oncology committee is presently conducting a survey to gather data on the prevalence and incidence of cervical cancer in member countries. This data will help to evaluate and plan intervention strategies. AOFOG secretariat communicates with the member societies by e-mail and then through them with the members of these member societies. AOFOG secretariat releases a three-monthly newsletter electronically providing a comprehensive account of the AOFOG activities. It can also be viewed through the AOFOG website. AOFOG website can be visited http://www.aofog.net to obtain any information one needs regarding AOFOG and the site is kept constantly updated. If further information is needed the secretariat can be contacted by mailing: [email protected]. All these awards are presented during the main AOFOG congress. The main income of the federation is from the AOFOG congresses and from the membership fees received from the member Societies. In addition, the Federation has been receiving donations from member societies and well-wishers for certain projects and awards. AOFOG finances support educational and research activities conducted by the various committees and working groups and maintains a separate educational fund. AOFOG has stood with member societies steadfastly in the face of natural disasters. In 2004, AOFOG supported the tsunami-affected areas of, Sri Lanka, and Aceh, Indonesia, In 2005 it supported the earthquake-devastated northern areas of Pakistan. Similarly, it supported areas in the Philippines hit by Typhoon Yolanda in November of 2013; earthquake-affected areas in Nepal in 2014 & Pakistan floods in 2023. It is very encouraging to see the AOFOG member societies coming forward very readily to assist in these disaster situations by way of making donations to AOFOG to carry out the programs in these disaster-affected countries. As AOFOG has extra funds received for disaster management, the executive board decided to have a disaster relief fund with this excess money. With prudent spending and judicious management of the finances, the Federation is able to maintain a positive balance with the reserves increasing. The reserves of the Federation are adequate to continue with the moderate activities should there be not enough income via one or two of its biennial conferences. The AOFOG has grown from strength to strength and become the leading O&G Federation in the Asia Oceania region responsible for the upliftment of Women's and Newborns' health and by updating the knowledge and skills of the health personnel. In my view it has passed the five tests that I posed to assess the success of a Professional organization; It has worked proactively to achieve its vision and mission, reactively by responding to evolving situations, continuously focused on engaging younger members for sustainability, has been prudent with the finances for continuity and has informed the AOFOG members, the public, government bodies and NGOs of its activities to harness partnership and collaboration. These have been achieved by working closely with the member Societies, international NGOs, National governments, and donor agencies. AOFOG will monitor the success of the Federation by applying the five tests and looks forward to Societies of nonmember countries in the region joining the Federation so that we can serve the women of the region better. I would like to acknowledge with much gratitude the assistance received from Prof. Sir Sabaranam Arulkumaran, Prof. Pisake Lumbiganon, Prof. Shahida Zaidi, and Prof. Kiyoko Kato in preparing this editorial. The author declares no conflict of interests for this article. Rohana Haththotuwa

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