The 17th Asian Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (AFCMA) Congress is slated to take place virtually on 16th September, seeing a total of 14 participating countries from the region discuss aspects of the medical profession and its relationship to Christian teachings.
Sep 04, 2021
By Anette Appaduray
The 17th Asian Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (AFCMA) Congress is slated to take place virtually on 16th September, seeing a total of 14 participating countries from the region discuss aspects of the medical profession and its relationship to Christian teachings.
The theme of the 17th AFCMA Congress will be Building Bridges Through Healing and Spirituality and it will be held online from Sept 16 to 19, 2021.
According to this year’s Congress Organising Chairperson, Dr Freddie Loh, Malaysia won the bid to host the 17th Congress, an event that takes place every four years.
“The last Congress was held in Kyoto, Japan, which was when [Malaysia] bid for the opportunity to host the 17th Congress and won it,” Dr Loh said, adding that this will be the first time in the Congress’ history that the event will take place virtually.
The Congress will begin with an opening Mass, celebrated by the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Most Rev Julian Leow, followed by the opening ceremony.
Dr Loh shared that the Congress will feature a number of different speakers from across Asia and even from Rome, who will speak on how Catholic doctors can reconcile their profession with their faith.
The four-day Congress will see the speakers share ideas on their various areas of practice and its relationship to Christian principles.
“The topics will touch on many areas [of medical practice], as well as the Catholic Church’s teachings on these issues,” Dr Loh shared.
The keynote lecture entitled Healing the Heart of Humanity in Times of Adversity will be given by Prof Ng Kwan Hoong of Universiti Malaya. Other topics covered will include palliative medicine, euthanasia, the medical and spiritual aspects of addiction, family planning methods approved by the Catholic Church, artificial contraception issues, withdrawing ventilator care of patients during Covid-19, among many others.
The AFCMA is one of four regional organisations (the other three being America, Europe and Africa) of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC). It was set up to coordinate the efforts to study and spread Christian principles in the medical profession.
The 17th AFCMA is open to medical students and practitioners who wish to become more informed about their Catholic faith in the practice of medicine. The Malaysian Medical Association will award 20 Continuing Professional Development points to attendees. For more information on the Congress or to register, visit
