The central hemisphere: the potential of academic family medicine in the Asia Pacific region

Abstract

While many think of the world as having two hemispheres – either north and south or east and west – that represent political and resource differences, this paper suggests that the development of the Asia Pacific region is challenging such simplistic notions, and represents the development of another dimension – the central hemisphere. This region has a substantial proportion of the world's population, resource riches and high economic growth. Should its member nations manage to span the geographic, political and economic challenges, the Asia Pacific region has the potential to become a major centre of academic family medicine.