The Latvian Association of Gynecologists and Obstetricians

The Latvian Association of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (LAGO) was founded on July 6, 1990 in the Red Cross hospital of Riga.  In order to represent themselves in Europe and elsewhere in the world, on June 21-22, 1993 during the 2nd Latvian Congress of Physicians, LAGO organized the 1st  Latvian Congress of Gynecologists and Obstetricians.  Since then two more congresses of LAGO have taken place (in 1996 and 1999).  Conference of Gynecologists and obstetricians of the Baltic sea region has also taken place in Riga in 2001.  LAGO includes 468 members.  Association itself is a member of European Society of Gynecology.  Main areas of activity include: development and introduction of clinical guidelines; commission for certification, auditing commission, and commission for ethics.  

LAGO plays an active role in informing the public about the issues of reproductive health, organizing congresses and meetings for specialists and/or other members of society and in other issues related to the public health.  LAGO works in close cooperation with different institutions of public administration, including the Ministry of Health, with a goal to achieve positive changes to the health of the public.

LAGO has an extensive experience in cooperation for different projects on a national and international level. In the context of the topic of this project, LAGO has been working closely with the World Health Organization on the following tasks:

• Developing and eventual implementation Recommendations “DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMAN: RECOMMENDATIONS OF PATIENT EXAMINATION AND RENDERING OF HELP FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH PROFESSIONALS”. The main purpose of the Recommendations is to improve identification and record of domestic violence cases, encourage health staff to intervene and to render qualified assistance to victims of violence.

• Tailoring and implementation of Training of Trainers (TOT) program “Domestic violence against woman: training program for reproductive health specialists about understanding of domestic violence against woman and patient examination and rendering of help. Several training seminars for relevant specialist based on this TOT are organized.

• LAGO has conducted a detailed study on national achievements in the area of care and help for the victims of sexual violence.  Possibilities for improvements in this area were searched for and the best European practices adopted.  Similarly there are quite a few achievements on a local level that can be used as good examples for  European added value at international level (for example, targeted training of reproductive health specialists on rendering help for victims of violence).

Contact
The Latvian Association of Gynecologists and Obstetricians
Miera iela 45, Rīga, LV-1013, Latvia
Phone (+371) 67315548
Fax (+371) 67315548
E-mail: info@ginasoc.lv
Website: www.ginasoc.lv
Contact: Dr. Ieva Baidekalna
Mobile  (+371) 25969175