The AAFP Center for International Health Initiatives was formed in the spirit of the AAFP's strategic directions and in response to two relatively unaddressed needs.

First, many countries with an overabundance of specialists are discovering the economic and societal benefits of having family physicians address the primary health care needs of the population. As a result, foreign ministries of health are seeking assistance with the development of new departments and residency programs as well as retraining programs in family medicine.

Second, U.S. physicians and educators become involved with health care reform projects often at the invitation of a foreign government or act as a subcontractor to an agency by the U.S. government. These individuals may be highly qualified to provide such assistance or have little or no qualifications.

Plans to create such a consultation service were discussed with a variety of AAFP constituencies, all of whom agreed that concrete steps should be taken to implement the program. In December 1999, eight internationally experienced family medicine educators (now known as the Advisory Board) started developing the concept of an international family medicine consulting corps known as the AAFP Center for International Health Initiatives.