Moroccan Professor Najia El Abbadi was elected head of the World Federation of Neurosurgery, on the sidelines of the 18th World Congress of Neurosurgery, held from 4-8 December 2023, in Cape Town, South Africa. El Abbadi becomes the first woman in the world, as well as the first African and Arab woman to assume this responsibility. The presidential medal was presented to Najia El Abbadi, during the handover ceremony, by the outgoing president of the federation, the American Professor Nelson Oyeshiku. El Abbadi, elected in 2021 president of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies, underlined her commitment to improving, during her mandate, neurosurgical practice worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. «Our strategy is based on transparent and brotherly international collaboration developed by a multinational team representing the United States, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Croatia and Ukraine, under the Moroccan presidency», she told the Moroccan press agency MAP. The World Federation of Neurosurgeons represents more than 137 scientific associations and 40,000 neurosurgeons from different countries around the world.
