Report from Vice President for Southern Europe
Dr. Concetta Laurentaci – MWIA Regional Vice President for Southern Europe
Throughout 2024, the Italian Medical Women’s Association (AIDM) promoted as many as 133 events organized both by the Italian provincial Sections, spread throughout the country, and in collaboration with institutional bodies, universities and external partners. Each Section carries out cultural and educational activities with direct autonomy and controlled by the National Council, led by the President who is its Legal Representative.
In 2024, under the leadership of Dr. Antonella Vezzani the AIDM was involved in the Guidelines on Endometriosis and on Reproductive Health.
AIDM started a nationwide training program inherent to VIPROM (Victims Protection Medicine), an international project organized and coordinated by Professor Bettina Pleiderer. VIPROM sees collaboration between 5 European countries to foster the training of health professionals to improve the reception and protection of victims of domestic violence.
Following the elections held on November 30 2024 Dr. Concetta Laurentaci was elected National President, the National Executive Board was renewed, followed by the Ethics, Scientific, and Bylaws Committees.
Since the beginning of 2025, AIDM’s National President Dr. Concetta Laurentaci, has been involved in the revision of the Guidelines on Body Overweight and Obesity, which will also see the involvement of Drs. Enrica Ciccarelli, N. C. for Italy, Palma Di Corato, Emilia Solinas and Lia Rusca.
In the first 5 months of 2025, several collaborations with a number of Scientific Societies were initiated, and there was a relevant training activity that confirmed the leadership of the AIDM as a national reference on gender medicine: particularly numerous and of high scientific quality were the appointments held in many Italian cities (Alessandria, Asti, Catanzaro, Matera, Milan, Naples, Sanremo, Siracusa, Rome, Viterb, etc.). Also on June 10, Dr. Paola Russo, of the Naples Rosalind Franklyn Section, organized a webinar involving the Elimination Cancer SIG, with remote connection of SIG Chair Dr. Usha Bharat Saraiya and MWIA VP of Southern Europe Dr. Concetta Laurentaci, preceded by a video greeting from MWIA President Dr. Eleanor Nwadinobi.
On the dates of November 27-29, 2025, the 43rd National Congress of the AIDM with the theme “Gender-Specific Medicine in Oncological Diseases: from Appropriate Care to Long-Term Survival” will be held in Naples, Italy, involving many experts from all national centres of excellence with a multidisciplinary approach.
Fig 1. From Left: dr. A. Accoti, Regional Representative of Calabria, dr. C. Laurentaci, MWIA VP Southern Europe and Italian Medical Women’s Association National President, and dr. A. Vezzani, past President of Italian Medical Women at Gender Medicine Congress in Matera (May 23-24, 2025)