Dear Colleagues, dear Participants to the ECTMIH 2009 and to the Mediterranean Conference on Migration and Travel Health:
on behalf of the Scientific Committees and of the Local Organising Committee, it is with the greatest pleasure that I welcome you to Verona! This is the 6th Congress organised under the auspices of the Federation of European Societies for Tropical Medicine and International Health (FESTMIH), after Hamburg, Liverpool, Lisbon, Marseille and Amsterdam. The Congress has always been the most important event in the life of the Federation.

We tried to design a programme in which all the main components of Tropical Medicine and International Health would be well balanced, and the congress main focus on Equity, Human Rights and Access to Care would be easily recognizable, not only in the specific track of Public Health, but also as a main thread through the whole Congress and the Conference. But the ultimate success of this event will largely depend on your participation.

It is up to all of you to make of ECTMIH 2009 a memorable meeting. Seize this unique opportunity to meet fellow professionals, to share research results and field experiences, to contribute to discuss effective, evidence-based strategies to broaden the access to effective health care.

It is a challenge to all of us to turn this event into something more than a “classical” congress: let’s make use of this opportunity as a platform for open debate, discussion, proposals of practical and evidence-based solutions to the advantage of those who most need them. Welcome to Verona and enjoy your stay in one of the most beautiful Italian cities! And please, do mark your next appointment in your agenda: the 7th FESTMIH Congress, Barcelona 2011 with its motto: “Global Change, Migration and Health”.

Zeno Bisoffi
Congress Chairman
Centre for Tropical Diseases
S. Cuore Hospital, Negrar (Verona)