WIP Africa Section
Chaired by Dr. Dennis Agbazue, the WIP Africa Section is focused on advancing pain medicine through education, practical skills development, mentorship, and collaboration across the continent. The Section is working to strengthen WIP’s academic and educational presence in Africa, expand engagement across African countries, and build stronger connections with the wider international WIP community.
A major highlight in 2026 was the 8th International African WIP Pain Conference, held August 6–8 in Johannesburg. The three-day meeting welcomed 64 registered delegates for scientific exchange, hands-on education, networking, and collaboration with local, African, and international faculty.
Practical training included the WIP Africa Masterclass and hands-on workshops at the Wits Skills Lab, with focused training in caudal epidural neuroplasty and transforaminal epidural neuroplasty, along with demonstrations of imaging and procedural technologies relevant to interventional pain medicine.
Beyond the annual conference, WIP Africa is working to build a sustainable, year-round academic platform through webinars, support for clinicians preparing for the FIPP and CIPS examinations, and additional opportunities for education, mentorship, and collaboration. Building on the momentum of the Johannesburg meeting, the Section looks forward to welcoming the WIP Africa community to Cape Town in 2027.
WIP Benelux Section
Led by Dr. Martine Puylaert, the WIP Benelux Section has a strong history of advancing education, training, and safe practice in interventional pain medicine. A member of the WIP Benelux board since 2015 and executive president since 2019, Dr. Puylaert is actively involved in physician education as director of the Dutch FIPP preparation cadaver course in Nijmegen and as an examiner for WIP’s FIPP examinations.
The Section builds on a strong foundation shaped by figures including Menno Sluyter and Maarten van Kleef, whose contributions helped advance WIP’s development. WIP Benelux has also contributed to recommendations addressing the safe use of epidural corticosteroid injections and the use of anticoagulants in pain procedures.
Education remains a major focus for the Section. WIP Benelux is currently celebrating the 10th year of its FIPP cadaver preparation courses in Nijmegen, which support fellows as they prepare for the FIPP examinations. The program has also expanded to include ultrasound-guided teaching sessions in Amsterdam and Antwerp, with additional cadaver-based training planned. Dr. Puylaert also organizes a biennial modular educational program on pain for paramedics, scheduled to be held for the sixth time in 2027.
Looking ahead, the Section aims to further expand its ultrasound courses and offer them in English, creating opportunities for a broader audience to participate. Building on the success of its established educational programs and the WIP conference held in Nijmegen in 2017, WIP Benelux remains committed to advancing high-quality training, safe interventional pain practice, and collaboration throughout the region and beyond.
WIP Taiwan Section
Chaired by Prof. Yu Chuan (Grace) Tsai, MD, FIPP, the WIP Taiwan Section has developed as an important part of WIP’s presence in Asia. WIP’s activities in Taiwan took an important step forward in 2016, when National Taiwan University College of Medicine and the Taiwan Pain Society began working to establish interventional pain education and FIPP/CIPS examinations in Taipei.
Successful Symposium, Workshop, and Examination (SWE) events followed in 2019 and 2020, supporting WIP’s mission of advancing education, training, and certification in interventional pain medicine. In 2020, the WIP Taiwan Society was formally established, creating a stronger foundation for continued activities and collaboration within Taiwan’s pain medicine community. Following its formal establishment, Prof. Tsai became the first president of WIP Taiwan.
The Society was established with the goal of strengthening connections between pain specialists in Taiwan and the international pain medicine community. By encouraging participation in WIP activities and interaction with pain experts around the world, WIP Taiwan seeks to support the continued development of pain medicine in Taiwan and greater international exchange.
With Taiwan selected by WIP as a development base for East and Southeast Asia, the Society has an important role within WIP’s presence in the region. As pain relief remains a significant unmet medical need, particularly across Asian countries, WIP Taiwan continues to support WIP’s broader mission of advancing pain medicine through education and international collaboration.
