IDMP 2026 Message by the IDMP Coordinator

Dear Medical Physicists from around the globe,

This year’s theme for the International Day of Medical Physics is:

“Advancing global health equity: The ethical foundation of medical physics”

As members of the International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP), we recognize that advancing global health equity is not only a goal, but an ethical priority of the medical physics profession. Medical physicists play a vital role in ensuring safe and effective therapies, high-quality diagnostic imaging, adequate radiation protection, and help develop new emerging technologies. When there is inequitable access to quality medical physics services, this may lead to inequities in health outcomes.

Around the world, access to safe radiation therapy, diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine, quality assurance programs, and trained medical physicists varies dramatically. In many countries, shortages of trained professionals, inadequate infrastructure, and limited regulatory frameworks may impact patient safety and limit access to new life-saving technologies.

Advancing global health equity requires, among others, that high-quality medical physics services are universally accessible, so that every patient can receive the highest possible standard of care.

As a global organisation, the IOMP has both influence and responsibility, and is uniquely positioned to work toward the global health equity by, for example:

• Expanding accessible online education.
• Fostering collaborations across borders.
• Supporting regional training centres and mentorship programs.
• Developing guidance on responsible adoption of advanced technologies.
• Encouraging collaborative research and knowledge-sharing networks that reduce the global research gap.
• Advocating data-driven transformation and deployment of automated, objective and standardised methods to expand medical physicist toolkit and make our work more accessible in modern healthcare.
• Encouraging sustainable technology implementation by ensuring that any equipment donations or installations are accompanied by training, maintenance planning, and quality assurance systems.

As medical physicists, our work is often focused on patient safety, radiation protection, scientific integrity, and technological innovation. Let’s use this Internation Day of Medical Physics to remind ourselves of the importance of advancing global health equity, so we can ensure that every patient – regardless of geography, socioeconomic status, gender, or political context – has access to safe and high-quality medical physics services, so they can receive the best possible care.

As a part of the International Day of Medical Physics, we will be holding a poster competition, and we are very excited to see your visual interpretation of this year’s theme, stay tuned for the call to posters.

With many thanks,

Erato Stylianou Markidou and Stephen Tronchin

IDMP 2026 Coordinators