2022 Elections: Candidate Statement for WFN Elected Trustee

Bo Norrving

I am honoured by my nomination as candidate for elected trustee of the WFN from the Swedish Neurological Society.

My work as a neurologist span over several decades. I received my training at Lund University and had several short but very formative post-doc periods at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard with Bob Ackermann and C Miller Fisher. I have authored >600 publications, have an h-index of 111 and >100 000 citations. I am fully trained in general neurology, but my main focus has been clinical stroke with several seminal contributions that include pioneering clinical trials, clinical-imaging correlations, epidemiology, and development of stroke services

As a very young neurologist I attended my first World Congress in Neurology in Kyoto 1981. This event sparked my interest in the global aspects of neurology, international networking, and engagements in neurological societies. I served as President of the World Stroke Organisation (WSO) from 2008 to 2012, and served as an executive till 2020. During my term as President, the WSO underwent a rapid expansion, with several new initiatives, and became closely involved with the WHO and the UN placing stroke in the focus on prioritized actions on non-communicable diseases. I participated in several high-level NCD meetings including the landmark 2011 UN general assembly meeting and I was portraited in Lancet Neurology 2013 as "Bo Norrving – putting stroke on the world map". I also had the opportunity to visit a large number of high income as well as low-middle income countries, get insights in stroke and neurology services in very different circumstances, and to establish a very large network.

I chaired the revision work of the cerebrovascular section for the ICD 11 at WHO. I played a key role in the important change to have all cerebrovascular diseases to form a single block under the section of Diseases of the Nervous System, which will have a profound effect on the positioning of stroke in several aspects in the future. I am currently a member of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on the Prevention and Control of NCDs (STAG-NCD) at WHO.

I have a longstanding and strong connection with the WFN, as well as with regional neurological societies. During my terms as WSO executive, WSO and WFN established several collaborations including the formation of the Brain Health Alliance. I have served for the WFN Educational, Scientific Program and Finance committees. I have been the Swedish delegate at the WFN on several occasions.

The WFN is the only global neurological organization and has an enormous potential to strengthen the position of neurology and improve neurological services. The Brain Health initiative, and the WHO Intersectorial Action Plan on Epilepsy and other Neurological Disorders provide unique possibilities to make a change but will require hard work and advocacy skills. If elected as a WFN trustee, I will bring on my long experience in working with strategic development, governmental bodies, and advocacy in neurology. I am hard working and prestige free. Serving the WFN as an elected trustee would be a privilege.