Medics worldwide: news and opportunities from the IFMSA

By Emily Spry, International Federation of Medical Students' Associations

Students contribute to tsunami relief--As news of the devastation in Asia broke, students from the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) responded as best they could, even if it was just to send expressions of concern and solidarity to their colleagues in affected areas. Our member organisation in Indonesia has been collecting money and materials, and medical students all over the world have taken part in collections organised by disaster relief organisations in their own countries. Contact norp_cimsa@yahoo.com for more information on the Indonesian project.

Algerian medical students nominated for world prize--The Algerian medical students' association, "Le Souk," has been nominated for the prize of the president of the Republic of Tunisia for world solidarity. The prize aims to honour individuals or organisations who by their humanitarian work "have contributed to the dissemination, consolidation, and promotion of the culture, values, and concepts of entente, cooperation, and solidarity among peoples, particularly in the field of sustainable human development, social promotion, and the fight against inequalities and poverty." Le Souk started out in 1995 as a faculty newspaper providing a forum for students to speak out on important issues (www.lesouk.org).

Bridging the "know-do" gap--Tackling health inequalities is pivotal in improving the lives of millions of people around the world. Although resources are needed to find new vaccines and drugs for diseases like malaria, existing solutions are not always being implemented. In Africa in 2001, for example, only an estimated 2-15% of children slept under bed nets--a simple, effective, and proved method of preventing malaria. This mismatch between what is known about improving health and what national health systems in many countries actually implement is called the "know-do" gap. A recent report by the World Health Organization highlights how malfunctioning health systems impact on health across the world. "We need to put a stronger emphasis on translating knowledge into actions--health systems research will help us to bridge this know-do gap. Also, that research is an investment, not a cost," said Dr Tikki Pang of WHO.

Global health for medical students--IFMSA-The Netherlands has published the second edition of its national magazine Global Medicine (www.globalmedicine.nl). The magazine is in English. The IFMSA's Think Global Initiative is based on our belief that all future doctors should understand health and medicine in a broader global context. To find out more, email your name to thinkglobal@ifmsa.org.

Travel and educational opportunities

Ghana--Break for Change; 4-13 March 2005. The Ghana Health and Educational Initiative is looking for short term volunteers for a rural development project (email drick001@umaryland.edu; www.ifmsa.usa.org/ghana for application form).

Netherlands--12th meeting of the International Student Congress of Medical Sciences (ISCOMS); 15-18 June 2005; Groningen University Medical Centre, Netherlands; in English. Deadline for submission of abstracts 1 March 2005. For more information, registration, and to submit an abstract visit www.iscoms.nl or email iscoms@med.rug.nl.

Scotland--Are you a young person working in development or poverty eradication? 30 July-8 August 2005; Peace Child International, together with its worldwide network of some 700 partner groups in 155 countries, will organise a third world youth congress on the theme "Young people working for a sustainable world community." Anyone between the ages of 18 and 25 can apply and attendance is free. For more information visit www.scotland2005.org.



studentBMJ 2005;13:45-88 February ISSN 0966-6494