MSI: Why did the MDGs become a focus for the Team of Officials, Executive Board, and the whole of the Federation this year?

Andreas Rudkjobing: The decision was made to educate IFMSA and its members about health, development and poverty. We wanted to do this with an option for IFMSA to devote itself on a longer term to development and health.

Another objective was also to raise awareness of the mere existence of the Millennium Development Goals. It is shocking how little knowledge of the MDGs there is among people in our respective countries. Even among medical students the awareness is far from satisfactory. Therefore our initial ambitions for IFMSA is still on a 'raising awareness' level. As future physicians and community leaders, it is important that we are maximally updated in the fields of global health. We would like IFMSA to facilitate that process.

MSI: As an official, with lots of knowledge and experience about the MDGs, what are your views and perceptions of them?

Andreas Rudkjobing: Hmm good question… Right now, the MDGs are the basis of all talk about development in the international community, whether you like them or not. It has created a strange situation because it is suddenly on everybody's agenda. IFMSA has been working on reaching the MDGs long before they were formulated and now, to get attention, credibility and funding, we have to refer to the MDGs all the time.

Also, on a more personal level, I sometimes feel that the goals are somehow dangerous. After their adoption, they were rapidly elevated to a target of ultimate success. They got so much attention that it is difficult to push agendas that are not explicitly described in the MDGs and they do miss a lot of important points, such as the importance of effective health systems, human rights, reproductive health and the whole field of non-communicable diseases, which are not mentioned.. There is also no focus on good practises; the targets are only numbers. The health goals could, for example, be achieved on an individual country level, on the basis of an ethnic divide and still be recognized.

Furthermore, I am afraid that it will continue to be a top-down process where local knowledge and participation is ignored. National governments should maintain their right to participate so that solutions also are moving from the bottom-up. I think there lacks room for national and local responses. For example I read that the UN observes that: 'many countries are in the process of retooling development programmes and strategies in line with the MDGs, which sounds like those governments only started to be concerned about poverty and the health of their citizens after the formulation of the goals. I mean, it is unquestionable that the goals in their nature are good, but one must also think about the approaches to development that are being used to justify the goals.

Whether they're realistic or not is maybe not so important to me, but what's important is whether the rich world is prepared to play its part in the process of global development.

MSI: What has IFMSA been doing towards achieving the MDGs?

Andreas Rudkjobing: Many of IFMSA's activities relate to the MDGs. Everything we do regarding HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria, Reproductive Health, etc. is a part of the big 'MDG picture'. As I said, we have been doing this for many years before the talks about MDG started. These projects, however, were not started because of the MDGs, but because of the obvious needs. With goal eight, we are involved in more concrete issues. Through our different external partners in the UN-agencies and other big international organization, we offer our network and expertise and thereby joining the different processes. On a more political level, the IFMSA is represented in the International Coordination Meeting of Youth Organizations (ICMYO). ICMYO is an informal network of membership-based, democratic, representative and accountable International Youth NGOs (INGYOs) and Regional Youth Platforms (RYPs). The main objectives of the ICMYO are the strengthening of the cooperation among youth organisations at regional and global levels and the coordination of political inputs to global youth policy. Through that, we are involved in the review processes of the MDGs.

In the IFMSA, there has also been developed an MDG joint working group with active people from our standing committees on Refugees and Peace and Reproductive Health, including AIDS and public health. They are specializing in the MDGs and trying to plan IFMSA's involvement on a longer term. The knowledge they have gained will be passed on to the rest of the General Assembly in an exciting way!

MSI: Do you think more can be done within IFMSA to promote and work towards achieving the three health-related MDGs?

Andreas Rudkjobing: Yes, definitely - I see a lot of potential in IFMSA for promoting the MDGs - the health related ones in particular. We have to pass on the message about the MDGs to our peers and further on to our communities. People have to be informed about MDGs. There is much work left to be done in holding the governments accountable to the promises made in the United Nations General Assemblies, but how can people do this if they are not aware of those promises? There is also a great need for more hands in delivering the work on the ground at a local level. We have to keep on letting our voices be heard and telling the international community that we are here and ready to work towards a healthier world!

Our President, Andreas Rudkjobing speaks on the work of the Federation in promoting the MDGs