Welcome everyone to SAFOMS- South Asian Federation of Menopause Societies. 

We in South Asia share a similar culture, social habits, economic status and have similar political backgrounds. We also face similar problems regarding health matters. So, it is helpful for the South Asian countries to get together and work in union to share the knowledge and experiences and benefit from each other’s resources. The South Asian Federation of Menopause Societies (SAFOMS) was born with this objective in mind.

Late Dr Behram Anklesaria initiated this process and requested Sri Lanka to organize the preliminary meeting to establish SAFOMS. Dr MDP Gunaratne, Dr Hemantha Perera and myself along with other members of the Sri Lanka Menopause Society undertook the task and we were able to hold the preliminary meeting in Colombo on 1st of October 2010, with the participation of members from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka Menopause Societies. At this meeting, the constitution was adopted unanimously and signed by a representative from each country. Dr Behram Anklesaria was elected as the Founder President and the other office bearers were also appointed and Sri Lanka was selected as the headquarters, with the secretariat in Colombo. Dr Behram Anklesaria spelt out his vision for the next 2 years. His enthusiasm, the words coming from his heart and the commitment encouraged everybody to work with commitment to get the newly formed federation of the ground. But, unfortunately, we lost him before the end of his term, at the most unexpected moment.

Dr MDP Gunaratne founder President of the Sri Lanka Menopause Society, equally committed to the cause of menopause then took up the presidency. Prof Rubina Hussain from Pakistan, Prof Shala Khatun from Bangladesh and Dr. Jaideep Malhotra from India the presidents who followed steered the Federation from its small beginnings to the present state.

Once the Menopause Society of Nepal was formed Nepal joined SAFOMS so now the SAFOMS member countries are , Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

In 2021, SAFOMS celebrated the 10 th Anniversary with a grand conference which was held in Sri Lanka where Dr. Rohan Haththotuwa from Sri Lanka took over the Presidency.

The 21st century will be remembered as the century of aging.With the population aging, women living longer, we are faced with an increased burden of women in the post reproductive age group susceptible to many health problems. They are more prone to develop, Non-communicable diseases such as Cardiovascular diseases, Diabetes, Malignancies, Chronic respiratory diseases, Urological problems, Osteoporosis, Psychological Problems & Dementia.

Five out of six women in their sixties expected to have one or more of these diseases. But, the attitude toward menopause in the South Asian countries is poor at present, with very little attention given to it. The knowledge about menopause, the awareness about the consequences of menopause and how to prevent them are also low not only among the public but also among the health personnel in our region.

We members of SAFOMS have a great responsibility, will have to take up these challenges and work not only with midwives as done in the past but with GPs, Public health physicians and health workers of other disciplines and also with Professional bodies of disciplines to counteract these challenges and provide high quality life & care to the elderly . We need to provide education, set guidelines & establish standards + advocacy I am certain that everyone in SAFOMS will join hands and work together as one family to Give a better life and health to our women in the post reproductive years.