INVITATION TO WHSS 2013

You are cordially invited to the World Healthcare Student’s Symposium (WHSS) 2013 in Lausanne, Switzerland. It will be held between the 8^th and the 13^th of September 2013. The WHSS is the largest international event for healthcare students and is held every two years.300 students of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, physiotherapy, chiropractic and other healthcare professions will attend and spend five days together at this fabulous international student congress.

The theme of WHSS 2013 will be “Demystifying Interprofessional Collaboration”, one of the heatedly discussed subjects today. There will be interesting workshops, speakers and topics to talk about, as well as a good platform to exchange ideas with international students.

The registration fee is 400.00 CHF (Swiss Franks) and the other half oft he congresses expenses are being covered by our generously partners and sponsors. If you do not need accommodation during the congress, the fee will be
200 CHF.

For the application, registration and more information visit our website: www.whss2013.com.

You will also find more information about the program and the poster session, where you can win an award of 500.00 CHF.

If you have any questions you are welcome to contact us: info@whss2013.com

We are looking forward to welcome you in Lausanne in September!

Swiss Reception Committee of WHSS 2013

High-Level Dialogue on Health in the Post-2015 Development Agenda concludes in Botswana

IFMSA Interventions at the Global Thematic Consultation on Health in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, delivered by IFMSA President Roopa Dhatt

March 3-5, 2013 in Botswana

Intervention #1—Importance of YP in the Development Agenda, Health in All Policies, and Getting to the Root Cause

Young people are a large population. Health issues (such as mental health, violence, injuries, child marriages, unprotected sex, early pregnancy and childbirth, sexual coercion, HIV) and social issues (such as employment, environment, education) continue to challenge their ability to meaningfully participate in achieving their future. We urge the post MDG framework to increase young people’s analysis, perspective and participation. We also urge the post MDG to consider forgotten voices of marginalized and vulnerable groups regardless of political, religion, social, racial, national, sexual, gender, national, sexual or any discrimination.   Not only are young people the future, but also they will be responsible for sustaining the efforts that are set now. We should engage with young people early on about healthy lifestyles, sexual reproductive health, and career planning and use them as a vehicle for social change, specifically in increasing the shortage in human resources for health.

We also feel that health should be placed in other policy agendas beyond the development agenda and the sustainable development. We urge the creation of more health indicators that are context specific, age-specific, and population specific in evaluating policies.

We encourage the global community to seek and address the root cause of inequity and the determinants that challenge health and well-being, especially in empowering young people early on.

Intervention #2—Political Language and Health in all Policies

1. We need a political language that is universal–understood and useful across sectors, so we can have more meaningful dialogue on setting the development agenda, especially if we are aiming for a more integrated approach.

We have heard a great deal about Human Security as potential framework that is emerging in some other non-health settings. It is a framework that focuses on development, human rights and state security. It is focused on the needs of people, multi-sectorial, integrated, and focused on both protections and empowerment.  It is a tool for both design and evaluation.  We need to consider such frameworks.

2. We need to keep our approach multi-sectorial, focused on sustainable efforts, addressing root determinants of health, bridging gaps, and integrating at the local level.

3. The how still needs to be answered, as we focus on these efforts.                                                       

Intervention #3—Human Resources for Health/Health Workers

 

When we talk about setting the health priorities for post-2015, we have to ask ourselves several questions.

• Who are the targets of these priorities?
• Who will be central to responding to the health priorities? Human resources for health or Human resources for development.
• If these are health workers or similar groups, how do we plan to engage with them and include them in setting in the post-2015 agenda?
• What will be their health literacy?
  • Will this include?
    • Multi-sectorial approach
    • Social Determinant of Health/ Determinants of Well-being
    • Sustainable development
    • Global heath
    • E-Health
    • Addressing the needs of target, marginalized and vulnerable groups
• How do we plan to build their capacities and make sure quality is

 

As a future health care provider, answering these questions are essential to setting the future development agenda and insuring that health priorities that are set are achieved.

 

Intervention #4—Specific Target Groups and An overarching goal on adolescents and young people

 

While we support universality of the goals that are set in the next development agenda, we want to highlight the importance of outreach to specific target group, like marginalized and vulnerable populations, especially adolescents.  While we do support the notion of age-specific, life cycle or other similar groupings for an over arching goal, we want to make sure that specific target groups are emphasized.

 Moreover, we would like to propose to the health community, about considering another additional overarching goal. We have heard in the room these past days a lot of mention of young people and their engagement, involvement, and access to health services, especially sexual reproductive health services. We also have been hearing at the UN level, at the WHO, the Rio+20 and other thematic consultations the importance of investing in young people as an emerging theme.

 

We have been discussing about the future…

The many health issues we discussed are most pertinent to young people, especially adolescents…(topics such as sexual reproductive health, mental health, violence, child brides, even health lifestyles and NCDs apply)

Young People are the future…

So why don’t we put adolescent health on the global development agenda, as an overarching goal?

Such a goal would be universal, sellable, and compelling.

Such a goal appeals to sustainable development (green economies, future generation)

Such a goal has the potential to be multi-sectorial (job employment, education, environment, nutrition)

Social determinants of health are a reality for young people, especially adolescents’ future.

Young people are innovators of social media, new technologies, tools and approaches.

Young people are already in some cases acting as human resources for health. 

Young people are engaging already on claiming their future and investing into it.

 

Discussion Points on Round Table during the meeting

 

GOAL: Universal Health Coverage

• The goal as is comprehendible, sellable, and universal.
•  The message should be more universal health access versus universal health coverage.
• We should make sure that such a goal, also has a specific mention for target groups, especially vulnerable and marginalized groups like migrant, rural, indigenous, young people.
• We should take the time to incorporate more sustainable development concepts in the goal, including sustainable practices.
• The goal should prepare health systems for a dynamic environment and not only the health issues of now, but for the future.
• Human resources for health (health workers) are an essential aspect of achieving this goal, so greater emphasis should be placed on targets for this workforce in the development agenda.
• When we talk about prevention, we should talk about health literacy and what competencies are we aiming for in UHC.
• There also needs to be emphasis on quality and therefore, quality indicators created, no only indicators on service coverage and protection.

 

 

 

GOAL: Maximizing Health Life Expectancy

• The goal is hard to understand and is not very sellable, but universal.
• We recommended changing the language to promoting a more understandable message and one beyond health, as a larger over arching goal (either well-being, healthy planet, maximizing human potential).

• We recommended age-specific targets, but making sure that there is a special mention of target groups, especially adolescents, marginalized and vulnerable populations.
• We should avoid in this setting creating silos and emphasize the multi-sectorial possibilities with other sectors such as education, green economies, environment, and nutrition.
• Additionally, there is potential to make this a larger goal.
• The possibility exists to keep the healthy life expectancy as an indicator.
• We should also integrate more sustainable development concepts and language into this goal—include education, green economies and the environment.

Written by Roopa Dhatt, IFMSA President 2012/13

PreRM: Global Health Equity and Health Systems in America and the Caribbean

“Action on social determinants of health and health equity means putting social justice at the heart of social action…You are the future and the future in your hands is one that has the potential to improve lives for everybody” Professor Sir Michael Marmot, chairman of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health.

A few weeks ago marked the last day of the 2013 pre-Regional Meeting of the Americas IFMSA region on “Global Health Equity and Health Systems”; and we can only say that everything went beyond our personal expectations.

On the menu of the workshop, we had trainings, dynamics, interactive lectures, videos, group presentations and small working groups on social determinants of health systems, health systems from America, advocacy, global health challenges and new approaches. We also had the opportunity to visit the National Public Hospital “San Rafael” in Santa Tecla, El Salvador. Health systems as identified by the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health are one of the crucial determinants of health within countries. The visit to Hospital “San Rafael” was an eye-opening experience, most of us were shocked and impressed at once: shocked because it was far from the reality we are used to; and impressed because Salvadorian health professionals were doing so much with so little. Just as one example, the lack of material is a constant burden on the health professionals, especially interns, as they must, in their daily practice, ventilate manually their patients because they don’t have enough machines to do it.
The reality is straightforward. The world as we know it has never possessed such a sophisticated arsenal of interventions and technologies for curing disease and prolonging life. Yet the gaps in health outcomes continue to widen. Much of the ill health, disease, premature death, and suffering we see on such a large scale are needless, as effective and affordable interventions are available for prevention and treatment. The power of existing interventions is not matched by the power of health systems to deliver them to those in greatest need, in a comprehensive way, and on an adequate scale. Making even harder the achievement of national and international goals without greater and more effective investment in health systems and services.
Even though there is no single set of best practices that can be put forward as a model for improved performance, as health systems are highly context-specific. There are certain shared characteristics in health systems that function well. On day #2 of the workshop we studied the WHO Framework for action on Health Systems, followed by a Comparative Health Systems session. From north to south, Quebec, Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Argentina and Chile even an adopted latino: Sweden. This might be one of our favorite activities of this preRM, as we saw young medical students sharing their passion and knowledge on their respective national health system. And as the purpose of the Framework for Action a common understanding of what a health system is, what are the fundamental “building blocks” of health systems and what constitutes health systems strengthening were promoted.

This interactive session helped us sharpen our vision on our healthcare systems, and we developed a critical eye on what is done already and what could be done better. One striking example of what we were lucky enough to learn about was the Costa Rican health care system which since its creation in the late 1940s, Costa Rica’s Social Security System, known as the Caja, has become the country’s most-respected public institution, providing universal health-care coverage and some of the best health-care services in Latin America. What’s more the World Health Organization frequently place Costa Rica in the top country rankings in the world for long life expectancy. Add that Costa Rica tops the 2012 Happy Planet index and has embraced sustainability in its national policies: it produces 99% of its energy from renewable sources, has reversed deforestation in the country, and has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2021.

 

Over the course of those days, we shared knowledge, we shared inspiration, and we shared hope. Slowly, step by step, with trainings on advocacy and public speaking skills along the way, we were able to individually and with a collective approach turn our “wish list” of ideas and concerns about how we might do things differently, and better, on our wards, and in our hospitals and communities into potentially generalized realities whilst creating positive health and social change. A few more sessions on what can medical students do and how can we tackle the global health challenges of today were also on the menu to tool participants up with concrete ideas on what can be done locally, nationally and internationally and turn them into global health equity advocates.

We must say: Our stay in sunny Salvador was close to perfect. We met amazing and extremely generous people, who made us feel so welcome in this beautiful country of Central America. We feel extremely blessed for had been able to share those extraordinary preRM days with a group of dynamic, energetic and enthusiastic people convinced that we can close the gap in our generation, young physicians committed to work for “a world where social justice is taken seriously”. It is definitely more than encouraging to put IFMSA mission “to offer future physicians a comprehensive introduction to global health issues” in action. It is indeed through IFMSA meetings and other opportunities that medical students develop cultural understanding, and positively influence the transnational inequalities that shape the health of our planet.

Altagracia Mares de Leon, IFMSA Global Health Equity Initiative Coordinator
Claudel P-Desrosiers, President of IFMSA-Quebec

Coordinators of the Global Health Equity PreRegional Meeting of the Americas 2013