Announcement about IUGA Annual Meeting 2020

18th March 2020

 Dear IUGA Affiliate Society Presidents,

We are reaching out to you today to provide you with firsthand knowledge and information about the organization of this year’s IUGA Annual Meeting in The Hague, the Netherlands, in relation to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak that is now established to be a pandemic.

Until recently, we felt optimistic that June was far enough away to confidently proceed with our plans. However, the potential reach of COVID-19 has changed significantly over the last weeks with a rapid increase of cases worldwide and with increasing restrictions, which makes it very difficult to accurately assess its risks.

Together with the IUGA executive management and staff we have looked extensively at the possibility and implications of either proceeding, postponing or cancelling the meeting. We have taken into consideration the health risks and impact on our members, faculty, industry partners, and considered the financial risk for each option. After careful and deliberate consideration, we have unanimously decided to postpone the 45th IUGA Annual Meeting and agreed to the new dates being September 2-5, 2020. While this is not a decision we have taken lightly, all IUGA Board members felt strongly that making a pro-active and timely decision on this matter is beneficial to all parties involved.

The health and safety of all attendees and the patients they care for is our first priority. In addition, we are seeing the impact of the travel restrictions issued by countries, academic institutions, hospitals and industry partners on the attendance of delegates, faculty and sponsors/exhibitors for our originally planned dates. As we do want to guarantee the most important thing our attendees and industry partners trust us above all else to deliver – a well-attended, high-quality, premier global urogynecology meeting – we strongly feel the decision of postponing the meeting is the best option for all parties involved.

We would like to thank you for your understanding. We are confident that with your continued support we will make the 45th Annual Meeting possible and as successful as always. We appreciate your commitment and flexibility and look forward to seeing you in The Hague, The Netherlands later this year!

Additional information regarding hotel reservation cancellations, registration refunds, and meeting logistics will be made available on the FAQ page on our meeting website www.iugameeting.org later today.

On behalf of the IUGA Board,
Ranee Thakar, President