Medics worldwide: news and opportunities from the IFMSA
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;13:89-132 March ISSN 0966-6494
