World Medical Association

The World Medical Association (WMA) is an international, independent confederation of professional medical associations representing physicians across the world. It is not a commercial product brand or a governmental health agency; its principal work is policy development, professional representation, and the articulation of ethical standards for doctors and medical research. The association works through national medical associations, individual associate members, elected governing bodies, expert committees, annual assemblies, and a permanent secretariat. The WMA was formally established in Paris on 17 September 1947, when physicians from 27 countries met at its first General Assembly. Its creation followed wartime disruption of an earlier international physicians’ organization and reflected an effort to build a durable global body for medical cooperation. In 1948, the WMA established its secretariat in New York City to maintain links with the United Nations and its agencies. The secretariat moved in 1974 to Ferney-Voltaire, France, close to Geneva and international organizations such as the World Health Organization. Ethics has been central to the WMA since its foundation. In 1948, the organization adopted the Declaration of Geneva, a modern formulation of the physician’s professional pledge. In 1949, it adopted the International Code of Medical Ethics after work prompted partly by postwar concerns about war crimes and medicine. The association’s best-known policy is the Declaration of Helsinki, first adopted in 1964 and subsequently revised, which sets internationally influential ethical principles for medical research involving human participants. Other important instruments address torture and ill-treatment in detention, the use of health information and biobanks, physician independence, and the responsibilities of doctors in public health and human-rights settings. The WMA’s principal decision-making body is the General Assembly, which meets annually and includes delegations from constituent national medical associations, WMA officers, Council members, and representatives of associate members. The Council is elected every two years and includes representatives from six broad world regions. The president is elected annually and serves as the ceremonial head, while the Council’s chairperson provides political leadership between assemblies. A full-time secretary-general leads the operational work of the secretariat. English, French, and Spanish are the association’s official languages. Membership is centered on constituent national medical associations, which may be chambers, colleges, orders, private associations, or other broadly representative bodies. Individual physicians, including junior doctors and medical students in relevant membership categories, may participate as associate members. The reference material reports 117 national medical associations and more than ten million represented physicians as of 2026, together with 3,056 associate members. The WMA maintains official relations with the World Health Organization and seeks cooperation with United Nations human-rights mechanisms, including the Special Rapporteur on the right to physical and mental health. The organization’s influence comes primarily from the adoption, revision, and dissemination of professional standards rather than from regulatory enforcement. Its declarations are not automatically binding law, but they are widely cited by medical associations, research institutions, ethics committees, courts, governments, and international organizations. The WMA has also faced criticism over the consistency of its responses to human-rights issues and professional misconduct. In 2018, the Canadian Medical Association withdrew after alleging that an incoming WMA president’s speech contained unattributed material copied from earlier sources. The incident highlighted the reputational and governance challenges faced by an organization whose authority depends heavily on ethical credibility.

The World Medical Association emerged from efforts to restore international cooperation among physicians after the disruption caused by the Second World War. An idea for a successor to the prewar Association Professionnelle Internationale des Médecins was discussed in London in 1945 at the House of the British Medical Association. Physicians from 27 countries then met in Paris, where the WMA was formally established on 17 September 1947. The organization initially located its secretariat in New York City in 1948. The location helped the association maintain contact with the United Nations and related agencies while its member associations developed a stable financial and administrative structure. In 1974, the secretariat moved to Ferney-Voltaire in France, near Geneva. The relocation placed the organization closer to the WHO and other international bodies working on health, labor, nursing, social security, and related fields. During its first years, the WMA concentrated on defining the ethical identity of the medical profession. The Second General Assembly in Geneva considered a modernized medical oath and adopted it as the Declaration of Geneva in 1948. The same meeting considered reports concerning war crimes and medicine, leading to further work on a common ethical code. The International Code of Medical Ethics was adopted in 1949. The annual meeting of the membership was renamed the World Medical Assembly in 1962. These assemblies became the main forum for debating and adopting statements on research, clinical practice, public health, human rights, and the relationship between physicians and governments. The Declaration of Helsinki, first adopted in 1964, became the WMA’s most internationally recognized policy. It established ethical principles for research involving human subjects and has been revised repeatedly in response to changes in research methods, regulation, and data practices. The WMA later expanded its policy portfolio. The Declaration of Tokyo addressed physician responsibilities concerning torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in detention. The Declaration of Taipei addressed ethical issues arising from health databases and biobanks. Alongside these declarations, the association has issued position statements and professional guidance on matters including physician independence, public health, human rights, end-of-life care, and the organization of health services. Governance is conducted through an annual General Assembly, a Council elected on a two-year cycle, regional representation, an annually elected president, and a permanent secretariat. The Council draws from six broad regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Pacific. The president is the ceremonial head, while the Council chairperson has a central political role and the secretary-general manages the operational units. The WMA’s membership model is based primarily on national medical associations, supplemented by individual associate members. National members may take the form of medical chambers, orders, colleges, unions, or private associations, provided that they broadly represent physicians in their jurisdiction. The association maintains official relations with the World Health Organization and engages with wider United Nations health and human-rights structures. Its history also includes governance and credibility controversies. In 2018, delegates from the Canadian Medical Association alleged that parts of an incoming president’s speech had been copied without adequate attribution from an earlier Canadian address and other sources. A motion seeking the president’s resignation did not pass, but the Canadian association subsequently left the WMA. The episode illustrated the importance of ethical consistency for an institution whose public authority rests on professional standards. The WMA continues to function as a global forum for medical associations and as a prominent source of nonbinding but highly influential guidance on medical ethics.

• 2018

  Canadian Medical Association leaves after speech-plagiarism controversy

  [1]World Medical Associationen.wikipedia.org

  The Canadian Medical Association resigned during a dispute over unattributed passages in an incoming WMA president’s speech.

• 1974

  Secretariat moved to France

  [1]World Medical Associationen.wikipedia.org

  For economic and institutional reasons, the secretariat transferred from New York City to Ferney-Voltaire near Geneva.

• 1964

  Declaration of Helsinki adopted

  [2]Declaration of Helsinkiwma.net

  The WMA adopted its landmark ethical framework for medical research involving human participants.

• 1962

  Annual meeting renamed World Medical Assembly

  [1]World Medical Associationen.wikipedia.org

  The WMA gave its annual membership meeting the name World Medical Assembly.

• 1949

  International Code of Medical Ethics adopted

  [1]World Medical Associationen.wikipedia.org

  The WMA adopted a common international code defining professional responsibilities of physicians.

• 1948

  Secretariat established in New York and Declaration of Geneva adopted

  [1]World Medical Associationen.wikipedia.org

  The WMA opened its secretariat in New York City and adopted the Declaration of Geneva as a modern physician’s pledge.

• 1947

  World Medical Association formally established

  [1]World Medical Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Representatives from 27 countries established the WMA at its first General Assembly in Paris on 17 September.

• 1945

  Postwar plans for a new international physicians’ organization

  [1]World Medical Associationen.wikipedia.org

  Physicians meeting in London began planning an organization to replace the prewar international association whose activities had been disrupted by the Second World War.

A global physician-led standards and advocacy body focused on medical ethics, human rights, professional independence, and the responsible conduct of clinical care and research.

• Research ethics declaration · 1964

  Declaration of Helsinki

  The WMA’s principal statement on ethical principles for medical research involving human participants. It addresses issues such as informed consent, independent ethics review, risks and benefits, vulnerable groups, privacy, publication, and responsibilities of researchers and sponsors. Although it is not itself legislation, it has become a major reference point for research ethics committees, medical journals, professional bodies, regulators, and institutions conducting clinical research.

• Professional pledge · 1948

  Declaration of Geneva

  A modern physician’s pledge adopted after the Second World War. It expresses commitments to patient welfare, respect for human dignity, professional integrity, confidentiality, non-discrimination, and the independent exercise of medical judgment. It is commonly treated as a contemporary successor to the Hippocratic oath, while remaining a professional statement rather than a statutory licensing instrument.

• Professional code · 1949

  International Code of Medical Ethics

  A framework describing physicians’ general duties toward patients, colleagues, society, and the profession. It complements more specialized WMA declarations by setting broad expectations for competence, honesty, respect, confidentiality, informed decision-making, and professional conduct across different national health systems.

• Human-rights guidance

  Declaration of Tokyo

  Guidance for physicians concerning torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in detention and imprisonment. It emphasizes the physician’s ethical duty not to participate in or facilitate abuse and addresses responsibilities when doctors encounter detention-related mistreatment.

• Health-data ethics declaration

  Declaration of Taipei

  Ethical guidance concerning health databases and biobanks. It considers consent, governance, privacy, data security, the secondary use of information and specimens, and the duties of institutions handling large-scale health data.

• 2018

  Speech plagiarism controversy involving Leonid Eidelman

  At the WMA General Assembly in Reykjavík, the Canadian Medical Association alleged that portions of incoming president Leonid Eidelman’s speech were copied from a 2014 address by Canadian cardiologist Chris Simpson and from other publicly available material without appropriate attribution. A Canadian motion calling for Eidelman’s resignation was unsuccessful. Eidelman later apologized, according to the cited reporting, and the Canadian Medical Association resigned from the WMA, arguing that the organization had not upheld the ethical standards it promoted.

  Source

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• 1974

  Transfer of the secretariat to Ferney-VoltaireStrategy

  Background

  The WMA sought lower operating costs and closer proximity to Geneva-based international organizations, including the WHO.

  Action taken

  The secretariat was moved from New York City to Ferney-Voltaire, France.

  Aftermath

  Ferney-Voltaire became the association’s continuing administrative base near Geneva.

  Source

• 1964

  Adoption of the Declaration of HelsinkiOther

  Background

  Growing international medical research required a shared ethical framework for studies involving human participants.

  Action taken

  The WMA adopted the Declaration of Helsinki and subsequently revised it over time.

  Aftermath

  The declaration became a major global reference for research ethics committees, medical institutions, journals, regulators, and investigators.

  Source

• 1949

  Adoption of the International Code of Medical EthicsOther

  Background

  Reports concerning war crimes and medicine prompted the WMA to develop a more detailed international statement of professional responsibilities.

  Action taken

  The organization adopted the International Code of Medical Ethics after discussion and preparatory work by a study committee.

  Aftermath

  The code provided a continuing baseline for subsequent WMA policy on physician conduct.

  Source

• 1948

  Adoption of the Declaration of GenevaOther

  Background

  The newly established association sought a modern statement of the ethical commitments expected of physicians after the wartime collapse of earlier international arrangements.

  Action taken

  The General Assembly adopted a modern medical pledge known as the Declaration of Geneva.

  Aftermath

  The declaration became one of the WMA’s foundational ethical texts and an internationally recognized formulation of physician duties.

  Source

1. 1World Medical Associationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Declaration of Helsinkiwma.net
3. 3World Medical Association official websitewma.net