My dear esteemed colleagues! It is a great honour to write this address as your president. First, let me express thank you all for supporting me for the leadership of Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations (AFPA ) for electing me as your president. Your faith in my leadership give me energy to work. Collectively all the leadership areas AFPA will improve mental health across our Asia – Pacific region with commitment to world psychiatry.

My ambitions and visions for AFPA, 2022-2024

I am looking forward for continuous engagement of AFPA, federation leadership across the countries and to primarily to particularly develop psychiatric knowledge, skills imparting, to help harmonise across countries of sharing the best psychiatric practices to impart knowledge sharing through our website and be in regular touch by interactive webinar learnings.

Among the counties to maintain solidarity and exchange of psychiatric education first in medical under graduate education and post graduate education, residency programme. I request all associations to write to me the faculty who wish to participate in this programme through e-learning to mentor young psychiatrists.

AFPA has now emerged as an important regional association and its affiliation of World Psychiatric Association is going to be important aspect of its future rôle in international psychiatry. Active partnership of Asian member societies in the AFPA mission and phisolophy.

Academic exchange

I request all leaders of AFPA to actively make our region a bed of academic activities to give opportunity for scientific exchange. Please be sharing your activities with Winston W. Shen for knowledge sharing in the Bulletin of the AFPA.

Active partnership of all our AFPA member societies in the AFPA functioning is continuosly supporting AFPA’s mission and philosophy. We are witnessing a global change in understanding of mental health issues, we are still far behind in many aspects of provision of an ideal metal health care for our patients. We do live in the 21st century but when it comes to stigma and discrimination for our patients and equality for our profession, we are still struggling a lot and stay far behind the acceptable standards of modern civilisation. I hope with the support of our AFPA member societies and with the continuous guidance from our leaders in psychiatry, AFPA will also be able to highlight all other challenges and problems in our speciality. I once again thank all of you for your support to AFPA and look forward for receiving your feedback and further input to our future work. (I declare no conflicts of interest in writing these messages.)

G. Prasad Rao
Schizophrenia and Psychopharmacology Division,
Asha Hospital, Hyderabad, India

Corresponding author. 298, Road No. 14,
Banjara Hills, Hyderabad – 500034, Hyderbad, India

G. Prasad Rao
APPA president, 2022-2024.