An interview with ICMM Secretary - General Roge Van Hoof

(Bqp.vn) - On the APMHE - 2015 held in Da Nang City from 14th - 18th September, 2015, the VPA Portal’s reporter had an interview with the ICMM Secretary - General Major General (ret.) Roger Van Hoof, M.D. Here is the interview:

Secretary - General Major General (ret.) Roger Van Hoof.

Reporter (R): Can you tell me something about your ICMM? What is its purpose? What are its activities and structures?

Secretary - General Roger Van Hoof: Yes, ICMM is an International Intergovernmental Mutual Organization that works from 1921 after the WWI because at that time, people realized that medical military and medical services even from one side. They were not collaborating. They were working just individually one next to the other and so from those and that was first Belgium military medical officer at that time Commandore Jules Voncken and later he became a Major General and also the U.S military medical officer Captain William S. Bainbridge. They decided to start an organization where all the military medical services would be represented from the whole world. And this organization would then give opportunities to these military medical services to learn to know each other first and secondly, to exchange scientific information and also experiences in the military medicine. And that is the mission still known of the ICMM.

R: And we would like to know the main activities recently in the International Military Medicine Cooperation in the global face ?

Secretary - General Roger Van Hoof at the APMHE - 2015.

Secretary - General Roger Van Hoof: When this mission is done by the ICMM through different methods. First is World Congress on the Military Medicine that takes place every two years. Last one was in May of this year in Bali, Indonesia. And the next one will be in New Delhi in India in 2017. That is World Congress. Between these World Congresses, in the years there is no World Congress there are 6 regional congresses because we have 6 regional working groups: a Pan Europeon, a Pan American, a Pan Asia Pacific, a Pan Meghrebian, a Pan Arap and a Pan African regional working group. These regional congresses organize two years in which there is no world congress called regional congress in military medicine so that they can meet each other in/ during these regional congresses. And this is our regional congress. What we do it also is our mission, we fullfill that mission also by scientific publication, international review of the armed forces medical service. It’s publication 4 times a year. And in this review of public the scientific articles of people of different military medical services from all over the world in a scientific review. We also have a website for this review can be read and where you can get all the information about ICMM. And we have also a newsletter so that something when we have to inform the different national medical services we can do it very quickly. We also support courses in the most important course in Switzerland on low armed conflicts and since two yeas now, we have also workshops on military medical ethnics. These are very interesting ones. And of course the low armed conflict is also decentralized in that way that we have this course also the teachers of Switzerland, the international teachers. We have this course also in other regions like. For example this region is in Malaysia every year. We also have a course in Saudi Arabia and in Africa.

R: Yes sir, the last question for you is that what is your assessment about Vietnamese military medicine force. And in the near future as you know that Vietnam’s military medicine force will join the ICMM, What is our responsibility and duty for the ICMM in general ? And what is your assistant for Vietnam’s military medicine force in the activities of our ICMM member?

Secretary - General Roger Van Hoof: Let me say first that we are very happy that Vietnam will join us. They are already observer and will become a full member at the general assembly in 2017 in New Delhi. The ICMM is an organization that only can work when the reason into activities between the different member states so as I said, ICMM stands for the exchange of scientific knownledge and experiences but this scientific knownledge and experiences must come from the member states. And I am confident, especially when I am full of known representation from the congress and the Vietnam People’s Army. I am confident that Vietnam will bring a lot of scientific knownledge and experiences to the international community of the ICMM. What the ICMM can give to the Vietnamese Military Medical service is that they give them the opportunities to expand their knownledge within the global community of the military medicine. This is one thing. And to support them if they want to open some activities as I speak about, scientific activities as well as seminar congress to open this to the world to the international military medical community. Otherwise, sometimes either an activity is known in the country or in the region which we make if we are informed them at that time and then we make publicity for the whole international community. And to this activity and that can participate, participants of countries from whole world. That is mission of the ICMM. But all depends on the proposes that the Vietnamese military medicine service will do to us if they have the activities they want to open to the ICMM community. That is mutual benefits.

R: So thank you very much for your help sir!