World Day of Regional Anaesthesia & Pain Medicine – 3rd Edition

WELCOME MESSAGE

Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends

Welcome to the  World Day of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine – 3rd Edition.

Our 2026 theme is practical and straightforward: Equity, Access, Relief – through Regional Anaesthesia.

Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine represent a global community. Clinicians from every continent have adopted these practices to enhance surgical safety, promote faster recovery, and ensure genuine patient comfort. In recent years, we have witnessed significant growth in this field, including the establishment of more training hubs, increased availability of ultrasound technology, improved safety protocols, and the development of clear pathways that make nerve blocks a routine part of patient care rather than an exception. Now is the time to capitalize on this momentum and secure these advancements for the future.

This year, our emphasis is on delivering neuraxial and peripheral techniques safely and reliably wherever care is given – from theatres and day-surgery centres to emergency departments, trauma services, maternity units and rural clinics.

Our 2026 priorities

• Equity: the benefits of Regional anaesthesia and Pain Medicine should not depend on geography, language, or resources.
• Access: practical training, supervision and essential kit—from ultrasound to robust landmark techniques—available in every setting.
• Relief: timely, procedure-specific blocks that restore comfort, dignity and function.
• Together with AFSRA, ASRA Pain Medicine, AOSRA Pain Medicine, LASRA, and national societies worldwide, we will focus on action:
• Share and scale what works: open, multilingual teaching resources; simple, safe block pathways; checklists that travel.
• Build capacity: mentorship, twinning and hands-on workshops that create local trainers and sustainable services.
• Measure what matters: consistent data on access and outcomes so we can learn, improve and advocate effectively.
• Support low-resource contexts: adaptable toolkits, essential medicines advocacy, and context-appropriate solutions—not one-size-fits-all.
• Strengthen teams: interprofessional training and human factors that make Regional anaesthesia and Pain Medicine reliable in the busy clinical environment, not just in demonstrations.
• Think long term: embed Regional anaesthesia and Pain Medicine within perioperative pathways, quality improvement, and environmentally responsible care.

How you can help? ✅ Host a hub. Teach a block. Translate a resource. Mentor a team. Share the learning.

Let this third World Day be remembered for its reach and readiness: more first-time sites delivering blocks; more clinicians confident with core techniques; more patients receiving the right block, at the right time, every time.

Thank you for your energy, generosity and commitment.

Equity. Access. Relief. With Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine at the heart.

On behalf of ESRA, our Sister Societies and organising partners

World Day of Regional Anaesthesia & Pain Medicine – 3rd Edition

Equity, Access, Relief

This  preliminary programme is given as a point of reference only.
For more details about the specific programme in your city, please contact your local organiser.

Download the PDF with the  Preliminary Programme

Programme (Editable version)

Work in progress, thank you for your understanding.
This list is not definitve and regurlaly updated

Click on the continent to access the according cities:

World Day Committee Members:

• Denisa Anastase 🇷🇴
• Aleksejs Mišcuk 🇱🇻
• Athmaja Thottungal 🇬🇧
• Eleni Koraki 🇬🇷
• Raffaele Russo 🇮🇹

Sister Societies