Established in 1974 by the national dermatological societies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, LADS has a long history of presence in dermatology in the ASEAN region. Since 1974, when the 1st Regional Conference of Dermatology (Asian-Australasian) was hosted by Singapore, LADS has organized the RCD (Asian-Australasian) once every two years in rotation among the member nations (sequence of hosting: Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia).
In 1988, the founder members of LADS formally signed a document at the 8th RCD (Asian-Australasian) called the Bali Declaration formally reaffirming their commitment and common interest in the development of dermatology in the region. Malaysia was elected as permanent secretariat for LADS in 1990, with attendant role of Secretary General fulfilled by Dr Steven Chow, a role he performed for the next 24 years until 2014. In 2012, at the 20th RCD (Asian-Australasian) in Manila, formalization of LADS was proposed and in 2014, the new constitution of LADS was accepted and adopted at the 21st RCD (Asian-Australasian) in Danang.
The current members of LADS are:
The LADS is a non-profit organization of the national dermatological societies in the Southeast Asian Region, devoted to training, service and research in dermatology, as well as establishing linkages and collaborations and fostering camaraderie with each member society.
The objectives of LADS are as follows:
The Council of the LADS is composed of the current principal office bearers of the national societies, with LADS Council Officers elected from the LADS Council members for a term of 2 years. The Council Officers for 2022-2024 are:
Council meetings are attended by the President and Honorary Secretary of the member societies. The Council of the LADS meets once every two years at the Business Meeting of the RCD.
The LADS Council Meeting reviews the progress of the development of dermatology amongst its members and in the region. The venue of the succeeding RCD (Asian-Australasian) is also formally determined at the Council Meeting. In addition, the Council Meeting appoints Specialty Boards to look into the development of individual Subspecialty groups.
The last LADS Council Meeting was held on 27th February 2020, Bangkok Convention Center at CentralWorld.
For enquiries, please address email to: secretariatLADS@gmail.com.