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PUBLIC HEALTH
These
are the current public health initiatives of IFMSA-USA.
Equip
Coordinator: Kim Le
Equip is a national effort to engage medical students throughout the
United States in medical supply collection and donation programs.
Our hospitals produce significant volumes of medical supply "waste" through
- the removal of materials (that are never used) from their sterile packages and
- inventory surplus.
To address the imbalance of supply and demand globally,
we connect students with
REMEDY (Recovered Medical Equipment for the Developing World)
and
Med-Eq (the "eBay" of surplus charitable medical supplies).
These national not-for-profit organizations work with students to send thousands
of dollars of equipment to developing nations annually.
Whether you are going abroad or staying local,
FIND OUT RIGHT NOW how to transport
supplies to other countries or how to start a REMEDY program at your school and
make a difference in a truly concrete way.
Click
here or
email REMEDY@Yale.edu
to learn about REMEDY.
Click
here
to join Med-Eq and donate or receive supplies.
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Native Health Initiative
Coordinator:
Anthony Fleg
- A partnership between health professions
students across the globe and American Indian communities
To both address the health inequities faced by American Indians
(AI) in North Carolina, and to utilize the unique resources within this
population to address health concerns, the Native Health Initiative
was created in 2004 as a partnership between
health professions students and North Carolina’s American Indian
communities. In 2006, the project became an IFMSA-USA project, hoping
to
both attract international and U.S. IFMSA members to volunteer in
under-served communities in the U.S.A. and to bring awareness to the
health inequities faced by indigenous populations here in the U.S.A.
Native Health Initiative operates on four principles:
(1) educating future health care providers on the health issues and
disparities facing American Indians,
(2) providing concrete, sustainable benefits to the communities involved,
(3) supporting students and host communities to engage in meaningful cultural exchange,
(4) empowering American Indian youth through mentoring and leadership training.
The project began with a non-existent budget, the lack of an
infrastructure to connecting universities and AI communities, and
historical scars from exploitation and demeaning power relationships
between researchers and this population. However, using a
community-oriented model, allowing tribal leaders to develop NHI and
its
projects, while providing logistical support to aid their efforts and
ideas, these hurdles were overcome, bringing health professions
students
from across the U.S. and globe to volunteer under tribal mentors.
NHI’s
work involves research on health issues relevant to North Carolina’s
tribes (e.g. factors behind the high rates of teen pregnancy), health
interventions in tribal communities (e.g. health education on diabetes
and diet), and collaborative efforts with other organizations (e.g.
working through entities on campus to create a permanent home for NHI,
a
medical school course in AI health, and undergraduate service trips to
AI communities).
Through two years of work, involving five North
Carolina tribes, more than 10,000 volunteer hours by health professions
students and tribal members, it is both clear that there are
substantial, un-addressed health inequities in the AI population and
that collaborative efforts between tribal health leaders and health
professions students can begin to meet these needs and “heal” the
scars
left from the paradigms of the past.
Interested in learning more or volunteering this summer? Visit the NHI
website or email one of the NHI coordinators
(anthony_fleg@med.unc.edu, smfleg@hotmail.com)
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Unite for Sight
Global
Officially
recognized as an IFMSA Transnational Project.
Coordinator: Jennifer
Staple, Unite for Sight International
Unite
for Sight is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that works nationally and
internationally to develop sustainable solutions to reduce health
disparities. As a member of
the Healthy Vision 2010 National Consortium, Unite for Sight has offered
free preliminary vision screenings, enrollment in insurance and free
health coverage programs, general health education programs, and vision
education programs in the United States and around the world.
Internationally,
Unite For Sight has designed and implemented eye camps and eye health
education programs in developing countries, including India, Ghana,
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Cameroon, and Benin.
“Unite for Sight Global” is a joint initiative between
IFMSA-USA and Unite for Sight to promote healthy vision on a global
scale. Through the local
and national chapters of IFMSA, Unite for Sight will expand its efforts
to medical schools throughout the world – offering medical students
worldwide a chance to share in the “vision” of Unite for Sight and
IFMSA-USA for a healthier planet.
Please write to us if you have any
questions: info@ifmsa-usa.org
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