Kenyan doctor Jacqueline Kitulu has been elected as the World Medical Association (WMA) President for the 2025-26 term. The Kenya Medical Association (KMA) shared the exciting news, calling on Kenyans to celebrate her achievement. “Join us in congratulating Dr. Jacqueline Kitulu, former KMA President and now the World Medical Association President-elect 2025-26. We are global,” KMA announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Kitulu, the first woman to chair the 50-year-old KMA, has been a family physician in private practice for the past 15 years. She also serves as the second deputy governor of the Kenya Red Cross Society and holds board positions in organizations like Mater Misericordiae Hospital, the Kenya Coordinating Mechanism for Global Funds, and the Kenya Consumer Protection Advisory Committee, where she is the vice chair.
Her academic background includes an MBA in Healthcare Management from Strathmore Business School, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Nairobi.
The World Medical Association was founded in 1947 with the aim of promoting cooperation between medical organisations across the world.
Since then, its membership has grown from an initial 27 organisations to 95. Individual physicians may also become Associate Members of the WMA.
The WMA Council, which is composed of national representatives, convenes two times a year.
It passes resolutions and acts as an advisory body to the medical profession worldwide. Central to the role of the WMA is the physician-patient relationship and, above all, the issue of patient safety.
WMA is an integral part of most professional codes of practice in Germany, whereas the Declaration of Helsinki sets the benchmark for clinical trials on human beings and has been influential in the formation of German drug law.
The WMA’s International Code of Medical Ethics outlines the physician’s duties toward patients, other physicians, health professionals and society as a whole.
