It is humbling to know that I am the first Australian ( as well as the Sri Lankan) to lead this prestigious organisation with enormous responsibility. I was voted in as the fifth President of the Asian Regional Consortium for Headaches (ARCH) with unanimous votes on 30th July 2022.
Asia-Oceania is home to nearly five billion people. Fifty-three nations and over a billion people with migraine and headache disorders. These disorders remain the most neglected, least respected, and worst managed medical conditions globally. It is the same painful truth in Australia as migraine led to 40 billion $ lost to the economy in Australia in 2018. How can we change this? We must raise awareness. We must communicate. We must collaborate. We must cooperate. Through genuine collaboration, communication and cooperation, we can improve access to quality neurology and better brain health globally. This is the magic formula that works. Here is the perfect example. We created history and a new Asia record with the ninth Asian Regional Congress I co-chaired with my colleague and friend Dr . Ravishankar, a Senior headache neurologist in India. We had a ten-day lead time to pull this meeting together after a thousand plus emails, Whats App and texts. Hundred or so Zoom meetings world class 54 talks were collected. For two days, back-to-back world-class educational materials were delivered through Zoom webinar format and My Interact to 1,400 neurologists from Asia.
They say good things do not come free. ARCH 2022 was offered to the delegates at zero cost.
Undoubtedly, the cutting-edge updates will rapidly translate toward high-quality patient care globally.
We are delighted with the success of ARCH2022- www.arch2022.net
My vision is to bring Asia closer to the rest of the world. Watch the space and join us. Let us promote quality neurology and the best brain health for all.
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