world federation of associations of pediatric surgeons world federation of associations of pediatric surgeons world federation of associations of pediatric surgeons (wofaps) is an organisation established on 15 october 1974 in brazil to promote the ethical study of pediatric research and to promote pediatric surgery as a distinct specialty of general surgery. the kyoto declaration of pediatric surgery, written in 2001, established the mission of the federation to focus on the development and education of surgeons serving children, in all parts of the world. world federation of associations of pediatric surgeonsabbreviationwofapsformation15 october 1974 (1974-10-15)founded atsao paulo, brazilheadquartersbern, switzerlandsubsidiarieswofaps foundationwebsitewww.wofaps.org history several surgeons and associations supported the endorsement of the proposal for the "international union of pediatric surgeons" proposed by denys pellerin in paris in 1963. but the progress was slow. on 15 october 1974, wofaps was founded in sao paulo, brazil, during a pediatric surgery congress with representatives from 43 countries under the presidency of prof. virgilio carvalho pinto and secretary general prof. jose pinus. harvey beardmore from canada was elected the first president of the wofaps. while prof jose "pepe" boix ochoa was again re-elected as general secretary (a post he would hold for 35 years!!). until 1983, only 23 associations belonged to the wofaps, but the organization has grown to include over 100 member countries today. it is recognized and participates in international associations of pediatric surgery as a member as well as the international pediatric association, as well as other organizations such as unicef, unesco and who. this has been due to the past leadership and efforts of the members. notable associations that have joined the wofaps include american pediatric surgical association, eupsa, the british association of paediatric surgeons and the deutsche gesellschaft für kinderchirurgie, as well as more geographically distributed associations, for example the pan-african paediatric surgical association. the wofaps is a representation of pediatric surgical associations and it does not represent any political ideas nor does it make any racial or religious distinction. the wofaps is governed by its constitution and its official office is in bern, switzerland. the wofaps foundation is a subsidiary of wofaps that offers scholarships to international young pediatric surgeons from developing countries who have demonstrated strong interests in teaching and research. the wofaps foundation is headed by prof. prem puri, previous president of wofaps and lifetime achievement award recipient in 2013. wofaps presidents harvey e. beardmore (canada) 1975–1977 denys pellerin france) 1978–1980 r.k. gandhi (india) 1981–1983 m. bettex (switzerland) 1984–1986 jose ricardo piñeiro (argentina) 1987–1989 k. ashcraft (u.s.a.) 1990–1992 w.a. maier (germany) 1993–1995 sid cywes (south africa) 1996–1998 jay lazar grosfeld (usa) 1999–2001 t. miyano (japan) 2002–2004 arnold g. coran (usa) 2005–2007 prem puri (ireland) 2008–2010 richard azizkhan (usa) 2011–2013 devendra gupta (india) 2014–2016 david sigalet (canada) 2016–2019 sameh shehata (egypt) 2019–2022 alp numanoglu (south africa) 2022-2025 the board is currently led by alp numanoglu acting as president, shilpa sharma as general secretary and udo rolle is the president elect for the current term (2022-2025). wofaps meetings 2025: izmir, turkey 2022: prague, czech republic 2019: doha, qatar 2016: washington, d.c., usa 2013: berlin, germany 2010: delhi, india 2007: buenos aires, argentina 2004: zagreb, croatia