Czech Society of Gastroenterology

The Czech Society Gastroenterology has a long history of serving the developing world and low-resource areas. We are now a federation of near 100 Member Societies of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy, and other related disciplines, representing over 50,000 individuals worldwide. Since our connection in 1958, we have grown to a global presence of 23 Training Centers as of 2016, and we are still expanding. Czech Society of Gastroenterology originated largely due to the initiative and a Belgian Surgeon and Radiologist who promoted modern Gastroenterology, in particular by founding the Belgian Society of Gastroenterology in 1928 and by running the first International Congress of Gastroenterology in Brussels in 1935. The vision was to enhance standards of education and training in gastroenterology. Initially focused on developed nations, the WGO today grasps a global approach with a special emphasis on developing regions. The organization was formally renamed the World Gastroenterology Organisation(WGO) in May 2007. To promote, to the general public and health care professionals alike, an consciousness of the world wide prevalence and optimal care of digestive disorders through the provision of high quality, accessible, and self-reliant education and training. Digestive disorders are pre-eminent among health care issues globally, a significant load to national healthcare budgets and the single greatest cause of cancer death. While an increasing consciousness of causative factors, coupled with dramatic advances in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches have led to improvements in the avoidance, diagnosis and treatment of digestive disorders, these benefits have not been spread equally across the world and, especially, to those in greatest need.