History of the APCP
(Previously called the ACP)
With 2012 just starting and the organization of the next Asia Pacific Congress of Pediatrics (APCP) on September 8-12 getting closer, the organizing and scientific committees are feeling the stress and urgency to get things moving faster. Although the members of the committees have been very very active with the planning and liaising with others, we are starting to feel edgy knowing that we have barely 8 months left. The stress level is certainly going to increase the nearer we approach September.
The APCP started off as the Asian Congress of Pediatrics (ACP) in 1974 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Manila. The organization behind the APCP is now known as APPA (Asian Pacific Pediatric Association) but it used to be called the Association of Pediatric Societies of the South East Asian Region (APSSEAR) that was first formed in 1974. As more countries that had not previously been affiliated to any regional organization requested to join APSSEAR, the need to change the name to symbolize the geographic coverage was felt and acted upon at a meeting in Bangkok. After some deliberation over the name through two meetings (the 29th and 30th meetings of National Delegates), APPA came into being in November 2003 following the meetings in Bangkok. The first Asia Pacific Congress of Pediatrics (12th APCP) was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 12-15 March 2007.
|
|
Host |
Year |
|
1st ACP |
Manila, Phillippines
|
1974 |
|
2nd ACP |
Jakarta, Indonesia
|
1976 |
|
3rd ACP |
Bangkok, Thailand
|
1979 |
|
4th ACP |
Seoul, Korea
|
1982 |
|
5th ACP |
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
|
1985 |
|
6th ACP |
Tokyo, Japan
|
1988 |
|
7th ACP |
Perth, Australia
|
1991 |
|
8th ACP |
New Delhi, India
|
1994 |
|
9th ACP |
Hong Kong
|
1997 |
|
10th ACP |
Taipei, Taiwan
|
2000 |
|
11th ACP |
Bangkok, Thailand
|
2003 |
|
12th APCP |
Colombo, Sri Lanka
|
2007 |
|
13th APCP |
Shanghai, China
|
2009 |
Malaysia's involvement
Malaysia first hosted the ACP in 1985 in Kuala Lumpur under the chairmanship of the late Datuk Dr Sam Abraham. It became MPA's first foray into the realm of organizing big international congresses and it gave the committee confidence in organizing many more including the International Congress of Tropical Pediatrics (ICTP) led by Prof DatukDr Mohd Sham Kasim, the Asia Oceania Congress of Child Neurology (AOCCNA) by Dr Hussain Imam and the World Congress of the International Association for Adolescent Health (IAAH) by Dr Nazeli Hamzah. All of these congresses were supported by strong and dedicated committees, the members of which worked selflessly for many months until all the pieces seem to gel together and the congress became a reality. The main MPA committee kept track of all official, unofficial, written and verbal feedback so that we could keep on improving at subsequent congresses.
We have now gone a full circle from the 5th ACP in 1985 to the 14th APCP in bringing the Asian Congress back to our shores. While the committees can work very hard to present a good program, it is up to each and every one of us to inform our friends about the congress and also to project our Malaysian image (the good side, I hope) throughout the congress. The 14th APCP 2012 is OUR congress to showcase our achievements in child health and paediatrics. It is also a chance to show our hospitality, in addition to networking and strengthening our camaraderie regionally.
See you in Kuching, Sarawak in September. Don't forget to bring your family and tell your nurses to attend the 4th Asia Pacific Congress of Pediatric Nursing at the same venue.
Zulkifli Ismail
Chairman, Organising Committee
14th APCP 2012
