Association of Medical Doctors of ASIA, founded in 1984, Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC since 1995

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AMDA International Conference for Asian Chapters took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Dec. 1^st and 2^nd.  The participants of the conference included AMDA chapter representatives from 11 Asian countries, the delegation from GPSP Philippines and staff from AMDA Headquarters. The main theme of the conference was “Mission of Sogo-Fujo” which encompasses five pillars of present AMDA activities, namely Global Partnership for Sustainable Peace(GPSP), Asia Network for Disaster, Medical Platform for the Global Community, AMDA Platform for Great Natural Disasters in Japan, and Triple A Partnership Program.

Today, due to the eastward shift of the world’s wealth, many Asian nations have achieved significant economic growth resulting in the uplift of health-care awareness level and upgrading of their national medical care system.  A good example would be the case of Nepal.  When Nepal was hit by a deadly earthquake this April, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, the stronghold of the nation’s health-care system , had declined assistance from overseas,

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The earthquake that hit Nepal on Apr. 25^th has been a grim reminder of the human fragility against the power of recurring natural disasters.
The death toll largely due to the collapsed buildings has kept increasing and it has topped 8,600 as of mid-May and the number of affected people is said to be more than 4.2 million.
The traditional brick-buildings in the densely populated capital account for the mass casualty of the earthquake.  Water supply and sewer systems were destroyed by the devastating tremor creating poor sanitary condition deteriorated further by the lack of food and water. 

Thirty years ago, a group of medical students led by Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go and Pancho Flores came to my office soliciting sponsorship to be able to host the first AMDA-AMSA Conference . I agreed to to be the sole sponsor of the event. Upon attendance to the opening ceremonies of the conference, I was introduced to the founding president of AMDA-AMSA, a youthful and dynamic Japanese doctor in the person of Dr. Shigeru Suganami. That meeting was the best thing that ever happened to my life. Dr. Suganami was full of enthusiasm, great ideas and hoping to unite the young doctors of Asia into a cohesive body that could help fill the needs of the young medical professionals and the poor people that they served.

The idea of establishment of AMDA came from a young medical student from Okayama named Shigeru Suganami. In the 70s, when Dr.Suganami was a medical student, he went to Cambodia and saw many refugees because there was a war there. At that time he was shocked at the sight of the bad situation. He really wanted to help them but he couldn’t. Then, he started dreaming to establish a humanitarian organization to help the people who were affected due to wars or disasters. After he became a doctor, he established The Association of Medical Doctors for Asia (AMDA) in 1984. The aim in establishing AMDA is to help people who are marginalized due to wars or disasters.

This year I would like to start the new year by extending my profound gratitude to all my friends and supporters. AMDA celebrated its 30th anniversary last year. Nobody could have imagined that a simple aspiration of a young man would develop into a well-established international NGO with 30 chapters and numerous partners around the world. It took 30 years of unfaltering commitment and assistance by the entire AMDA community, its partners and supporters. It is the spirit of "Open Sogo-Fujo"* that has united these people of various backgrounds to help people in need. No word can be enough to thank all friends and donors who have made AMDA what it is today.

Last November, Japan Medical Association asked me to write an article on disaster relief activities. In this article I have touched on the concept of 'professional freedom' in the medical field. This was the life-long philosophy of one of our former presidents of Japan Medical Association. Much has been said on this topic but I believe that 'professional freedom' calls for proactive action that comes from the autonomy each medical doctor is entitled to. It is proactive freedom, freedom to act on one's conscience and reason in order to save lives and build healthy community around the world.

Youthful energy permeated the Asian Medical Students Conference, in short AMSC, which took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this summer. As the founder of AMSC, I had the honor of addressing the audience at the conference. AMDA and AMSA share the same origin. Though the story has been told on many occasions, when explaining about AMSA, the story is virtually inevitable. It was in 1979 when I along with two medical students was dispatched to Thailand by a Japanese organization of medical students. Our mission was to offer medical assistance to Cambodians who at that time fled their own country to escape to the refugee camps in Thailand. As a complete novice in the field of international humanitarian assistance, without any reliable reference or local contact, we were not only denied the opportunity of carrying out our mission but were not even allowed to visit the camp. The disheartening experience led to the establishment of Asian Medical Students’ Conference in 1980, and later in 1984 to the formation of Asian network of medical professionals, known as AMDA, Association of Medical Doctors of Asia, and AMSA, Association of Medical Students of Asia. To do good in our community, whether local, regional or global, we need the network of those sharing in the same spirit. This is the root upon which these two organizations were built.

Food and human life are inseparable. Food is a source of life. It is the basic substance along with water that sustains human life. Food, thus, is linked to various predicaments of the present world. The right to food is a humanitarian issue. Climate change, population growth, water supply, environment, food safety, food security, and many other phenomena relating to food address an array of international, governmental, scientific and social issues.