61st General Assembly, August Meeting 2012–The Indian Experience (MSAI-India)

The next IFMSA General Assembly, August Meeting 2012 will be held in Mumbai, India. The host is one of our most recent candidate members MSAI (IFMSA-India). The theme will focus on universal health care.

Theme: Universal Health Care – The Time is Now!

Universal health care – sometimes referred to as universal health coverage, universal coverage, universal care or social health protection – describes health care systems organized around providing a specified package of benefits to all members of a society with the end goal of providing financial risk protection, improved access to health services, and improved health outcomes (World Health Report, 2010).

Last year, our Federation renewed its commitment to the vision of Alma Ata – a world where health is a fundamental human right, a universal societal goal, and a state of well-being enjoyed by everyone. In short, health is for all.

Our tracks…

• In March Meeting 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia we looked into the gross disparities in health that continue to afflict the majority of the world’s peoples.
• Our 60th anniversary General Assembly in Copenhagen, Denmark last August Meeting 2011, we imagined the future of health and looked into various ways towards achieving a healthier and more just world.
• March Meeting 2012 in Accra, Ghana, we recognized action on social determinants of health as the key intervention for achieving global health equity.

Action…

Beginning by addressing health inequalities through action on social determinants of health?

The WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health identified the health system as one of the crucial determinants of health within countries, and proposed that universal access to health care as a starting point. Today, nearly 100 countries are investing huge resources, establishing agencies, commissioning researches, and holding consultations as they all rush towards the finish line of universal health coverage.

In line with IFMSA’s commitment on this, Universal Health Care will be the theme for the IFMSA General Assembly this August Meeting 2012.

India is a great place to collaborate, share, exchange and build efforts surrounding universal health care. India is a country experiencing a transition towards provisions of easily accessible and affordable health care to all Indians by 2022. A national health-insurance scheme geared towards increasing access for the poor started rolling in April 2008, and so far it has enabled 100 million to have cashless, paperless, portable access to inpatient health care provided by more than 8,000 public and private hospitals across the country. India is more than willing to share its universal health care journey to IFMSA, and to learn from other health systems through IFMSA’s medical students from around the world.

Through the theme events of IFMSA-India and the OC, they hope to gather in one room the leaders of the Universal Health Care movement in India and the amazing medical student-advocates of IFMSA, and spark dynamic discussions about how universal health care can be a reality – and how we doctors-in-training can play our part.

Mumbai

Mumbai being the hosting city for IFMSA’s 62nd GA – AM 2012 India is, known as the commercial capital of India. Before 1996, Mumbai was known as ‘Bombay. Its original name ‘Bombay’ emerged from the Portugal term ‘Bom Bahai’ meaning good bay/harbor. It is also known as Manchester of India. With the opening up of the Suez Canal in 1869 the city’s future as India’s primary port, was assured. Now, it is the second biggest city in the world.

India

India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.

Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world’s major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region’s diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance and led by Mahatma Gandhi.

The Indian economy is the world’s tenth-largest by nominal GDP and third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest-growing major economies; it is considered a newly industrialized country. India is a federal constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system consisting of 28 states and 7 union territories. India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and multi-ethnic society.

IFMSA-INDIA (MSAI)

MSAI – The Medical Students Association of India is India’s largest represented Medical Student Organization & the offical organization that represents IFMSA – India

Mission

To be a forum for medical students throughout the world to discuss topics related to health, education and medicine; to formulate policies from such discussions and to carry out appropriate activities; To promote humanitarian ideals and medical ethics amongst medical students; To act as a mechanism for medical students’ professional and scientific exchange and projects; To be a body through which cooperation and contacts with other international organizations are established; To act as a mechanism for member organizations to raise funds for projects recognized by the IFMSA.

Description

India finally joined the IFMSA family and today Medical Students’ Association of India is also known as “IFMSA INDIA.” Our mission is to improve the medical education and public health care management in India & our vision is to enhance medical education, facilitate & establish communication between student organization, not to forget organize rural health programs in the country.

 

http://www.msa-india.org

Author: Roopa Dhatt, IFMSA VPE 2011/12

Contacts:

OC Chair || Pratap Naidu A. Contact: am2012india@msa-india.org

IFMSA Requests: gs@ifmsa.org

Social Change: President’s Message for IFMSA MM2012 General Assembly Accra, Ghana

Social change—the process by which individuals organize based upon a common set of beliefs and values to impact and move society toward a more progressive, cohesive, and visionary place.

Around the world this year, social change has taken on an even more impactful course—with governments collapsing, policies challenged and redefined, structural changes in some of the most revered international organizations, social issues brought to the forefront by the people—and at the heart of all these socially driven actions around the world are inequalities.

Inequalities are an ongoing challenge that humanity faces. However, notable are the periods in history where inequalities cannot be denied, ignored, and put at the back burner. We are in such a period of history, as we are in the second decade of the 21st century.  Especially for health, development and equality, this decade is marked by goals and promises to achieve a universal improvement in health and quality of life through international and multi-sectorial collaboration.

As we gather here in Accra, Ghana at the 61st International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) March Meeting 2012 (MM2012), General Assembly, I encourage us to contemplate about social change and how we, as aspiring physicians, leaders, public health activists, are partaking in redefining social and health issues and leading social change.  

At the IFMSA March Meeting 2012, students, health professionals, physicians, public health experts will engage in knowledge and skill sharing, inspiration exchanging, building capacity, increasing opportunities and expanding the IFMSA and health network, and most importantly, creating a snowball effect on our motivation to take on social and health challenges around the globe.  

It is important to take these next days to not only think out of the box, but as well defining the next steps on how together, as being part of IFMSA, we can further drive social changes on the issues that are the most important ones for those in our communities and ourselves.

Promoting and implementing change and innovation is often a long, enduring process requiring years of preparation and follow-up. The work that has been carried out in previous years has reached a critical point and today provides us with an immense momentum to take the next big leap in IFMSA. Now, we have the chance to translate this opportunity into concrete actions and measures to strengthen the ties of our federation and set a path for the future.

IFMSA AS THE LEADING PROFESSIONAL, STUDENT NETWORK AND VOICE ON HEALTH RELATED ISSUES WORLDWIDE, not only has the ability to lead social change, but realize we are leading social change around the globe—in our communities, nationally and internationally.

It is also a very special moment for IFMSA to have our General Assembly in Africa and provide this opportunity to our members and to the region. Many of the largest battles in health and social inequities are taking place here in Africa, and we have this unique opportunity to being medical students from around the world to the front line. The very dedicated Organizing Committee (OC) FGMSA-Ghana of the MM2012, lead by Mr. Jones  A. Gyedu, OC President, have provided us with an exciting setting and a program focusing on the main theme–Social Determinant of Health and Youth.

I wish every delegate and partner of IFMSA a memorable, empowering experience here in Accra, Ghana for the MM2012 GA and that you take home the necessary skills and motivation to pioneer social change within your communities.

Yours truly,
Christopher Pleyer
IFMSA President 2011/12

President’s Message Term 2011/12

Dear Friends,

The term of 2011/12 marks an exciting year for us. Having just celebrated our 60th anniversary, has given us the chance to discover our rich history and glance back at the steps that laid the foundation of our federation.The dedication and work of past generations of physicians in training has formed our organization and made it to what it is today:– the world’s largest medical students’ network, providing medical students all over the world a platform for international collaboration.

Promoting and implementing change and innovation is often a long, enduring process requiring years of preparation and follow-up. The work that has been carried out in previous years has reached a critical point and today provides us with an immense momentum to take the next big leap in IFMSA. Now, we have the chance to translate this opportunity into concrete actions and measures to strengthen the ties of our federation and set a path for the future.

This years’ focus on development will be specifically in 4 areas:

1) ensure the voice of medical students is taken into account by increasing external visibility of the federation

2) improve accessibility of our organization by implementing standardized procedures

3) facilitate international collaboration by taking new ways in the use of technologies

4) support the work of our members worldwide by setting a special focus on regional support

The IFMSA strives towards providing an optimal environment for students to develop their ideas and to serve their communities by promoting and providing health for all. In order to reach this goal, we need to be open to development and willing to make the effort to take things one step further. It is this that has driven the growth of our federation and that has made our organization stand the test of time.

Today, it is up to us to form the future of the IFMSA. Together, I am sure, we are able to treasure the heritage that has been given to us and set the foundation for future generations of physicians in trainings and for the coming 60 years of the IFMSA.

Yours truly,
Christopher Pleyer
IFMSA President 2011/12