The UROLINK Committee meets twice a year, usually in April and October, at the Royal College of Surgeons in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. The committee is responsible for the organisation, financial administration and running of UROLINK. It is responsible, through its chair, an elected full member representative on BAUS Council, for discussing UROLINK strategy and progress with BAUS. UROLINK's finances are held within BAUS's charitable status.

At present there are ten committee members who represent a broad range of interests in the developing world, but principally in Africa. The President, Treasurer and Honorary Secretary of the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) are also ex-officio members of the committee. Other faculty members, or representatives of other groups, associations or from indistry may be asked to attend committee meetings to help achieve the aims of UROLINK.

The committee is responsible for evolution of UROLINK's strategy which continues unchanged since UROLINK's inception in 1990.

THE HISTORY OF UROLINK

The initial milestones in UROLINK's evolution stem from 1983 when there was a proposal to form a Tropical Urology Society. In 1985 BAUS proposed to establish links with the Association of Surgeons of East Africa and in 1986 Prof. John Blandy invited suggestions for assisting the 'Third World' whilst president of BAUS. In 1988 Prof. Geoff Chisholm facilitated a 'Tropical/Third World' meeting which ultimately led to BAUS members being canvassed about the setting up of UROLINK. By 1990 a Working Party was formed, UROLINK was adopted and its aims defined. In 1996 UROLINK became a sub-Committee of BAUS Council and its chair had to be a member of the Council and in 1999 UROLINK was incorporated into the restructured BAUS organization. A fuller history of the evolution of UROLINK can be gleaned from the 2002 article by Neville Harrison, the founder chairman of the organisation.

UROLINK STRATEGY

UROLINK has a number of different roles which are reflected in its activities:

Area                                                                     Activity

Links            Encouraging establishment of links between individuals, departments and organizations

Visits           Encouraging and facilitating professional visits to work with colleagues overseas

Training      Supporting appropriate urological training of surgeons in their countries, and in the UK

Equipment Assisting with the provision of books, journals and equipment where needed

Advising     Providing BAUS Council with advice on overseas matters relating to the developing world

From a time perspective, UROLINK's short term goals are to promote the provision of appropriate urological expertise and education world wide, to encourage development of training opportunities, provide advice to overseas trainees and advise BAUS Council on the developing world.

Its medium term goals are to help co-ordinate the development of links as defined by BAUS Council with both national and international urological associations in the 'developed' world, e.g. with Europe and North America.

Its long term goals are to maintain the high standing of British urology within the world arena and provide professional links of benefit to both the developed and the developing world.

UROLINK's GLOBAL OBJECTIVES

UROLINK could try and cover the whole of the developing world but it was felt to be more important that's its activities were limited to a relatively small number of areas so that durable, sustained, links were created. For this reason UROLINK's principal areas of activity are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian sub-continent and the Caribbean. This does not mean that it doesn't have links with other areas of the globe but these are the principal regions in which UROLINK's effort has been made.