Dear Colleagues

Judging by all the e-mails and congratulatory correspondence, the 7th IFIC Congress in Spier Estate, Western Cape was a huge success. This would not have been possible without your participation, enthusiasm and support.

There were 320 attendees in all from 42 countries- a truly international meeting. Each one of you participated with presentations, discussion, networking and establishing links for the future.

There were a few “firsts” at the congress.

A “role call” of participating countries as part of the Opening Ceremony was a great way of getting to know representation from far flung corners of the globe. It was a proud moment indeed.

At this conference an IFIC Plaque has been established. This is a copper shield mounted on hard African wood which has a list of all the previous IFIC conferences by year and geographical location. It was handed by the Western Cape Infection Forum to the Hungarian Society at the Closing Ceremony.

Last, but not least, there were several topics addressed which were relevant to Africa and other developing countries.

The enthusiastic support from industry clearly indicated that infection control in developing countries is indeed being taken seriously. Amongst the networking there were plans to establish educational programmes, support programmes and sustained links.

On behalf of the Western Cape Infection Forum and myself, I would like to thank IFIC, APIC, GCC, and all the other societies who actively participated in making the conference a memorable experience.

See you in Hungary!

Shaheen Mehtar
Chair, Local Organising Committe