Category: Campaigns
From March 28th to 29th 2009, Medsin Manchester will host over 550 delegates from around the UK for two days of topical and controversial debates, workshops, campaigns and exhibitions.
The focus of this year’s conference is 'Healthy Interventions', using contemporary case studies to illustrate controversial issues:
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel are seeking experts for an urgent independent fact-finding mission to travel immediately into Gaza for collection of evidence regarding:
- Causes of injuries and of deaths with relation to types of arms used
- Attacks on medical facilities and teams
- Evacuation of the wounded and the dead
- Impact of the attack on the health system
- Impact of the attack on public health issues
- Other medically-related violations
You might find yourself wanting to get involved with organisations like Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Merlin, Red Cross/Red Crescent or Medicins Du Monde, but being nothing but a student, you might only find closed doors: ‘Experience needed’, ‘no electives offered’ and ‘qualified personnel only’.
Does that mean you have to wait till you qualify? Well, MSF for one specifies you need to have completed 2 years at senior house officer level before considering going out as a volunteer with them [1]. With the introduction of the Foundation Programme in August 2005, medical doctors completing the training will be required to have successfully completed F2 plus at least 1 year post F2 professional experience before you are ready to work for MSF. Nevertheless, getting involved with MSF is more than going out into the world, and as a student there is a wonderful variety of ways to support MSF, some of which are listed below. Personally, I have had an amazing time last year setting up the Sheffield ‘Friends of MSF’ (FoMSF) group, and the support from MSF head-office has been second to none. Furthermore, the speakers who came to speak were extremely supportive and had great patience in answering the multitude of questions which an excited student audience have to offer.
Sudden changes in UK immigration law, already in the news for their impact on overseas doctors, have also forced hundreds of students at UK medical schools to reevaluate their career plans. With immediate effect from April 3rd 2006 all doctors who are not residents of EEA countries have only been able to apply for training posts if their potential employer can prove that there are no EEA doctors available for that post. Importantly, this ruling also affects doctors from overseas who graduated from one of the UK's 31 medical schools and completed the 2 year foundation programme.
Yesterday, over 1,500 people participated in the MSF/TAC meeting at the 2nd South African AIDS Conference. It was followed by a march to hand over a memorandum to the head of the AIDS Conference, Professor Lynn Morris.
At the MSF/TAC meeting the following important documents were released:
-Latest report of the Joint Civil Society Monitoring Forum on the state of the rollout of the treatment plan
-TB and HIV: A policy paper of the Treatment Action Campaign
Sir Bob unveiled plans yesterday for five free Live 8 concerts in London, Philadelphia, Rome, Paris and Berlin.
Find out all the details at http://www.live8live.com/
The line-up (shown below) including the almost ubiquitous Coldplay, Sir Elton, Lauryn Hill, Madonna and more, is impressive. You can't argue Bob Geldof knows how to attract the attention poverty in Africa certainly needs. This time the campaign wants 'your voice, not your money.'
"Still 20 years on, it strikes me as morally repulsive and intellectually absurd that people die of want in a world of surplus" Bob Geldof
The concerts, on the 2nd July, coincide with the G8 summit in Gleneagles, where the world's richest countries will meet. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are bringing to the table a package of change for Africa, as outlined by the Africa Commission, including debt cancellation and an increase in the aid given by the West.
In our current
special feature,
David Baguley sheds some light on the contentious issue of the 10/90 gap and the campaign for research in diseases of the developing world.
Further Reading
$US 106 billion spent on drug research each year: where are all the medicines?
Global Forum for Health Research
Médecins Sans Frontières
Health Action Europe: working to improve access to essential drugs and rational use of medication.
No Free Lunch: a group of health care providers who believe drugs promotion by pharmaecutical reps should not influence clinical practice. They even have a pen amnesty for all those pens collected by students and health professionals.
