From the President and Secretary General
At a time when we know that people in many parts of the world are struggling with new challenges resulting from natural disasters and political upheaval, we think of our physical therapy colleagues and the impact on their day to day lives and practice. As they face the challenges and uncertainties of a new future, we unite under our common professional bond in offering support to our member organisations and friends around the world. 
This issue of WCPT’s e-update focuses largely on global health and highlights current and upcoming reports and opportunities relevant to the profession.  Watch for the next Congress update in mid-March.   
Kind regards
Marilyn Moffat and Brenda J Myers
If you would like to use all or part of this e-letter for your own newsletters/websites then please feel free. We need your assistance to reach the profession around the world, so please send this e-update to your members.
Films addressing disability
The World Health Organization's (WHO) department for Disability and Rehabilitation (DAR) is launching a series of films addressing the negative attitudes and perception people with disabilities often have to overcome.
In one film we meet Rachael answering the question "What's disability to me?".  It joins the series' first film of Faustina from Tanzania, which highlighted the importance of rehabilitation and assistive devices. View now at www.youtube.com/who
Further films will be launched in April and May, in the run up to the launch of the World report on disability on 9 June 2011 and can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/user/who#grid/user/50649F9C524CBAC4.
If you would like to share your own story of "This is disability to me", WHO welcomes short film submissions or photographs by people with disabilities. Please get in touch with Tato adresa je chráněna proti spamování, pro její zobrazení potřebujete mít Java scripty povoleny or Tato adresa je chráněna proti spamování, pro její zobrazení potřebujete mít Java scripty povoleny if you have material to contribute.
International classification of diseases
For those of you interested in the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD) a new online training tool is available. You may access the tool directly at the WHO classifications website, www.who.int/classifications  and click ICD-10 Training in the right hand list.
The tool is designed for self-learning as well as classroom use. The modular structure means that learners can tailor the course to their particular interests.
World Health Report 2012
WHO's annual flagship report will focus for the first time in its history on the theme of research for better health. Titled No health without research, it is aimed at ministers of health. The report will provide new ideas, innovative thinking, and pragmatic advice on how to strengthen health research systems.
Call for papers
WHO and Public Library of Science (PLoS) have launched an initiative to encourage researchers to complement and substantiate the key messages in World Health Report 2012 by creating a special WHO/PLoS Collection. They are now inviting the submission of papers to PLoS Medicine, especially from low- and middle-income countries, on topics related to strengthening of key functions and components of national health research systems. To stand the best chance of your work informing the World Health Report 2012, contributors are urged to submit papers by the end of March 2011. Papers should be submitted via PLoS at www.plosmedicine.org/home.action.
Physical therapist researchers may wish to consider submitting papers to enhance awareness of the evidence for physical therapy as an effective component of health systems.
Educata: free article
This month's free peer-reviewed article from Educata, a WCPT partner providing online continuing education, is now available for download via the WCPT website:
This month's free article from Educata is Managing cancer pain with nonpharmacologic and complementary therapies by Pujol LA, Monti DA. J Am Osteopath Assoc 2007 Dec;107(12 Suppl 7):ES15-21.
The article looks at how nonpharmacologic interventions are important adjuncts to treatment modalities for patients with cancer pain. It reviews several nonpharmacologic and complementary and alternative modalities commonly used by patients with cancer pain. Download it now at  www.wcpt.org/node/29540. 
If you work with cancer patients you may also be interested in Educata's foundations of oncology course by Dr Marisa Perdomo. Dr Perdomo is breaking new ground in the physical therapy treatment of individuals with oncological disease. She is a forerunner in the field as both educator and clinician.
Health Information for All by 2015
HIFA2015 is a global campaign and knowledge network with the goal that "every person worldwide will have access to an informed healthcare provider by 2015". More than 4000 people representing 1800 organisations in 157 countries around the world interact by way of email discussion forums. Together they are building a knowledge base of information needs and how to meet them. Each year since its inception HIFA sets an area on which to focus for the year. The 2011 challenge is 'Mothers and family caregivers’.
Neil Packenham Walsh, the coordinator of the HIFA2015 campaign and co-director of the Global Healthcare Information Network, will be a speaker on a discussion panel at the WPT2011 Congress Can new information technologies really add value to physical therapy practice and outcomes?.
Read more about the discussion panel at www.wcpt.org/congress/discussion_panels.
To join HIFA2015 go to www.hifa2015.org/joinhifa/. For more information about HIFA2015 go to www.hifa2015.org/.
Symposium on rehabilitation disaster relief
A call for abstracts has been issued for the symposium on rehabilitation disaster relief to be presented at the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM) world conference in Puerto Rico 2011, Monday 13 June, 13:30-17:30.
Papers are welcome on the:

• epidemiology of disability in natural disaster (including vulnerability of persons with pre-existing disabilities)
• assessment methods of needs and problems of persons with disabilities in natural disaster
• training of rehabilitation responders to disaster
• effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions after natural disaster
• current challenges in rehabilitation service provision and intervention strategies in disaster victims with disabilities
• policies to raise awareness about medical rehabilitation as major health strategy after natural disaster in the acute as well as post-acute relief phase

Abstracts for the presentation of papers can be submitted online at http://abstracts.flexmax.eu/isprm2011/disaster/. Deadline for abstract submission is 31 March 2011.
Female genital mutilation
WHO has recently published a 17-page booklet, Global strategy to stop health-care providers from performing female genital mutilation. It is available to download from the WHO website at www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/fgm/rhr_10_9/en/index.html and is available in Arabic, English and French.
This global strategy against medicalisation of female genital mutilation (FGM) is intended for a broad audience of policy-makers in governments, parliamentarians, international agencies, professional associations, community leaders, religious leaders, NGOs and other institutions.
WCPT opposes all forms of FGM. To read WCPT's position statement on FGM go to www.wcpt.org/node/29464.
Positive practice environments (PPE)
Presentations from the PPE session held at the recent Second Global Forum on Human Resources for Health are now available online at www.ppecampaign.org/content/second-global-forum-human-resources-health-bangkok-25-29-january-2011.
International frameworks and guidelines, migration, violence at the workplace, occupational health and safety, health information and HRH and gender were some of the topics addressed by international speakers at the session.
The PPE campaign is a collaboration of WCPT, International Council of Nurses (ICN), International Hospital Federation (IHF), International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), World Dental Federation (FDI), and World Medical Association (WMA) working with the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA) to undertake a campaign to improve work environments and aid in staff recruitment and retention through the development of positive practice environments (PPEs).
 
To learn more about the PPE campaign go to www.ppecampaign.org.
WHO Disability & Rehabilitation newsletter
The just published World Health Organization (WHO) Disability and Rehabilitation newsletter includes reports on the launch of the World report on disability, regional and national launches of the CBR Guidelines, and the WHO Task Force on Disability.
Read now at www.who.int/disabilities/publications/newsletter/dar_newsletter_issue12.pdf.