Our history
ICMDA's History
Societies, or meetings of Christian doctors and dentists, have existed in some countries for over a hundred years. In the early 1950’s personal contacts developed into meetings between existing Christian Medical Fellowships, and then in 1963 the first International Congress of Christian Physicians (ICCP) was held in Amsterdam. Further Congresses were held in Oxford and Oslo in 1966 and 1969, during which a constitution and committee structures were finally agreed.
From these beginnings the Association grew rapidly. The nature of the organisations changed from a movement which held just triennial conferences to one which was a truly international association with an ongoing work between major congresses by which relationships between Christians in both medicine and dentistry could be strengthened, and national movements assisted to attain their aims. This change in concept was reflected in the change of name to the International Christian Medical and Dental Association, adopted in 1986, at the Cancun Congress.
World Congresses
- 1963 Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 1966 Oxford, UK
- 1969 Oslo, Norway
- 1972 Toronto, Canada
- 1975 Singapore
- 1978 Davos, Switzerland
- 1982 Bangalore, India
- 1986 Cancun, Mexcio
- 1990 Seoul, South Korea
- 1994 Stavenger, Norway
- 1998 Durban, South Africa
- 2002 Taipei, Taiwan
- 2006 Sydney, Australia
- 2010 Punta del Este, Uruguay
- 2014 Rotterdam, Netherlands
- 2018 Hyderabad, India
- 2023 Arusha, Tanzania
Past CEOs/General Secretaries
- 1963-1969 Douglas Johnson
- 1969-1982 Part-time & honorary
- 1982-1992 Keith Sanders
- 1992-1999 John & Thea Reader
- 1999-2002 Peter Pattisson
- 2002-2004 Ralph Sinn
- 2004-2010 Daryl Hackland
- 2010-2018 Vinod Shah
- 2019-present Peter Saunders