The Medical Women's International Association (MWIA) is an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) representing women doctors from all seven continents. The association was founded in 1919 and is therefore one of the oldest professional bodies at the international level.
At the time when MWIA was founded, women doctors were a curiosity, and there was a need for a forum to discuss common concerns. Women physicians as the minority is no more, with women constituting at least 50% of many medical schools. However, a new set of concerns have emerged. MWIA provides a wonderful international forum to discuss these, and to meet and interact with women doctors from all over the world.
How are MWIA & MWF associated?
When you join the MWF you benefit from automatic membership of MWIA. A quarterly newsletter will keep you informed of the activities of other national organisations and their priories. MWF members will be notified as each new edition comes out.
Young MWIA (yMWIA) is an active forum of women doctors and medical students under the age of 40. It offers an excellent opportunity for young MWF members to liaise and work with doctors from around the world. More specifically they host a range of projects and events, including a global book club, soon-to-launch mentorship program, and webinars. Please sign up here and follow yMWIA on Instagram @youngmwia to keep up to date with their work.
MWIA Meetings
MWIA International Congresses are held every 3 years. The next triennial Congress will be held in Cairo, Egypt on 13th-15th October 2025. Each of the 8 MWIA Regions holds a conference in their region every triennium. The next MWIA Northern European Regional meeting will be held in Cambridge on 15th-17th May 2025, in conjunction with the MWF Spring meeting in Cambridge. Attending one of these meetings has proved a life-changing experience for many MWF members.
MWIA Committees and Special Interest Groups
MWIA has several Committees and Special Interest Groups (SIGs). Applications for membership are submitted to MWIA at the beginning of each triennium. The next triennium begins in October 2025.
Current Committees and SIGs include Finance, Ethics and Resolutions, Science Technology and Research, Young MWIA, Climate Change, Leadership and Mentoring, Maternal and Child Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, Violence against Women and Girls.
History of the MWIA
MWIA was established in 1919 in New York City by 140 women physicians representing 15 countries, including Argentina, Canada, China, England, France, Holland, Italy, Japan, Norway, Serbia, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay and United States. The first president was Dr Esther Lovejoy from the United States.
For more details of the History of MWIA, click here.
Today MWIA represents more than 12,000 women doctors from 70 countries. Regional Vice Presidents coordinate the work of 40 Affiliated National Associations and Individual Members of MWIA, across Northern, Central and Southern Europe, Near East and Africa, Central Asia, North America (Canada and the U.S.), Latin America and Western Pacific.
MWIA was granted consultative status with the World Health Organization (WHO) as early as 1954 and the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1987. For almost 70 years, the Association has contributed to elaboration of historic international treaties and resolutions for protecting and promoting the health, well-being and the rights of women and girls. As an NGO with consultative status, MWIA regularly contributes to the work of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), including the most recent Written Statement on the Empowerment of Women and Girls in the Digital Era.
MWIA members regularly attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York and the World Health Assembly in Geneva. They present Statements, participate in panel discussions, attend meetings and organise side-events, alone or in partnership with other prestigious organisations. The MWIA Permanent representative at the United Nations is Dr Connie Newman, Vice President of the North America region.
Plans for the future
1. Consider sponsorship of young MWF members to attend international meetings
2. Facilitate medical student electives with MWIA members
3. Facilitate senior doctors visiting the UK through MWIA
4. Link MWF members who are interested in international matters
For all the latest news from MWIA and its national organisations read the MWIA Update on www.mwia.net
