Health Women, Healthy World: Challenges for the Future

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Report of the 28th Global Health Council Annual Conference, May 29 till June 1 2001 in Washington D.C.

Since April 2001, IFMSA is a full member of the The Global Health Council, the world's largest alliance dedicated to improving health worldwide. Several hundred health NGOs around the world are joined together in this council to share knowlegde and resources, build partnerships and together become stronger advocates for health. IFMSA is very fortunate to enjoy the benefits of the Global Health Council's membership. It is a wonderful opportunity for medical students to learn from and join forces with the professional practitioners and advocates in the field of Public Health.

In this year's meeting, approximately 1500 medical doctors, public health workers, public and private sector representatives were gathered to discuss the progress that has been made and the work that remands to be done to ensure better health for the women of every nation. Many pressing issues were addressed: from reproductive health to the safety of breastfeeding, from violence against women to the gender-bias in the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Yusuf Goedbloed and myself were present at this meeting from May 30 untill June 1. We have invited speakers for the Anniversary Day and for a few individual workshops during the ITCMS. An overview of our activities and contacts made:

May 30

Global Health Council staff:

Nils Daulaire: very eloquent speaker and very interested in IFMSA. Nils Daulaire will give a personal story about his experiences as a young doctor in Bangladesh during the Opening Ceremony. His participation in the forum still needs to be planned in relation with the other invited speakers.

Jonathan Barth, Assistant Director of Membership: will be our contact person regarding all materials about GHC and membership affairs (see below).

Marianne Tshihamba, Small Grants Program Coordinator: will be our contact for applying for the small grants program.

Plenary

Graca Machel, Chancellor, University of Cape Town: invited as key-note speaker during the Opening Ceremony.

Ana Luisa Liguori, Mac Arthur Foundation: checked the status of our application and have contact info for further inquiries.

Laurie Garret, science writer for Newsday: invited as key-note speaker for Anniversary Day or Poverty and Disease workshop.

Panel Session on mobilization for HIV awareness

Ludfine Opudo, Society for Women and AIDS in Kenya (SWAK): mobilizing grassroots women and girls to respond to HIV/AIDS prevention care and support. I would think this a great project to invite to the AIDS and Poverty workshop. Ludfine will be in Netherlands till June 9 so Christine (AIDS ws) and I might get the opportunity to meet her.

Marie Lichtenberg, Humana People to People/ Total Control of the Epidemic(TCE): TCE is a systematic and holistic AIDS program. TCE would like to present their project on the GA50's Anniversary Day. Communication about this continues.

Round Table Discussion on Economic Empowerment: A Determinant of Health Promotion

Gwyn Hainsworth, Pathfinder international: working in family planning and reproductive health together with local partners in three continents. Will follow-up to see how IFMSA can collaborate locally.

Adja Diak Mbaye, PLAN international: one of the world's largest child-focused development organizations. Will follow-up to see how IFMSA can collaborate locally.

Panel Session on Public-Private Partnerships in HIV/AIDS

John Wecker, HIV specialist Boehringer Ingelheim: invited for AIDS panel as speaker, will also be able to give us some recommendations within Boehringer and beyond regarding funding. Hot contact!

Joan Benson, Merck, Botswana Comprehensive HIV/AIDS partnership: approached as panelist for AIDS forum as well, but seemed less interested.

Plenary

Video of Olivia Nantonga, AIDS orphan who came to the US from Uganda to tell her story in the White House, died age 21. This video would be excellent material for the AIDS workshop. Contact GHC to see how to get hold of the video.

Yasmin Haque, UNICEF Bangladesh: powerful speaker on maternal and child health care, might be good woman-speaker on the A-day (back-up).

Khama Rogo, IPAS: very charismatic speaker on the role of international NGO's. We were unfortunately not able to talk to Khama Rogo. Ipas works globally to improve women's lives through a focus on reproductive health.

May 31

Panel Session on Non-Health Determinants of health outcomes

Miriam Claeson, Public Health Specialist World Bank: expert on poverty reduction and the influence on health. I will contact her to advise on the Poverty and Disease workshop. She will be in Sweden in the summer so was interested in joining us in Denmark. Miriam can also recommend someone from the World Bank for the AIDS panel.

Plenary

Asha Mohamud, senior program officer PATH, African Alliance for Youth: Asha Mohamud works in African to percent Female Genital Mutilation, and has been very successful in creating Alternative Rites of Passages. Told her about IFMSA and PATH might be an important partner for NMO's on the local level. Asha Mohammud could potentially be approached for the RTD on FGM on the A-day.

Exhibition

Jamkhed International Foundation: local community health project, very interested in receiving medical students to do rotations. Connie Gates, Director in DC, might also be interested in attending the GA and giving a background 'theoretical' talk about community-based primary health care.

Ipas: focus on reproductive health, including preventing unsafe abortions, were very interested in finding out more about the Teenage Pregnancies workshop.

Awards Banquet

Melinda Gates, Gates Foundation: surprisingly good speaker, unfortunately left right after her talk.

Gordon Perkin, Gates Foundation: informed us that Melinda Gates only does one event per year and the GHC conference was it for this year. So changes of still getting her are extremely slim.

William Foege, Gates Foundation: remembered us (Bilal) and would like to see the invitations we have for him (Aids panel) on e-mail before answering to us.

Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General: Yusuf spoke to him in person this time. Invitations etc will have to go through his external relations office (I think Barbara already sent fax). Yusuf will follow-up.

June 1

Plenary:

Musimbi Kanyoro, General Secretary, World YMCA: great speaker giving and african perspective of the relations between poverty and disease, teenage pregancies, AIDS epidemic etc. with a focus on youth activism. She also stressed the importance of accountability on all sides when engaging in partnerships (public, private, NGO). Musimbi Kanyoro would be great as external to ITCMS (either on A-day or in workshop) because she is very charismatic and works with the oldest organization dealing with youth.

GHC and IFMSA 50th Anniversary

At the GA in Denmark Nils Daulaire will give a key-note address on the Anniversary Day and in the Poverty and Disease Workshop. We will contact Jonathan Barth about the possibility of a GHC booth, newsletters and other promotion material and the GA, so that all NMOs can make their acquaintance with GHC. All the NGOs and other organizations of interest represented at the council's meeting in the form of booths will also be approached with the request to be present and have booths at the ITCMS.

GHC 29th Annual Conference 'Global Health in Times of Crisis' and IFMSA's participation

IFMSA should :

-submit abstracts for next year's conference, by October 2001

-have a booth at the conference

-develop SCODE plans with help of this conference

I will distribute more information about next year's conference soon so that the different Standing Committee's can prepare IFMSA's attendance and get the most out of our membership privileges.

Kim Sigaloff

June 5, 2001