1) NGOs- HOW TO DO MORE GOOD THAN HARM
Jennifer Parr
Interactive workshop in which participant discuss range and types of NGOs, think about what is good and (potentially) bad about NGOs and consider the future of NGOs.
Jennifer has a Masters in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. Her thesis was based on fieldwork conducted in Sumatra, Indonesia, on the women’s experiences with contraception. She is working on her PhD, which is at the final stages of being submitted and is entitled ‘Integration in the Community Health System: A Study of Changes in the South African Health System.
She lived and worked in Cape Town, South Africa for a number of years where she set up a programme for pregnant teenagers and worked as a researcher and lecturer at the University of the Western Cape.
She has collaborated on a number of projects including a study on adolescents and sexual behaviour in Zambia and Kenya and Epilepsy stigma in Vietnam and China.
She has a keen interest in innovative learning technologies. She is now employed by the Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development and is developing an E-learning model to fit the needs of the Centre.
2) HERBAL TREATMENTS FOR TROPICAL DISEASES: WHEN FLOWERS ARE ALL YOU HAVE
Merlin Wilcox, Oxford Homeless Medical Fund
Dr. Merlin Wilcox has a lot of experience in working in the developing world. Inresource-poor countries, readily and cheaply available tradional medicines area realistic alternative to conventional drugs. He will discuss the evidence base for the use of herbal medicines and their potential for treating tropical disease.
3) HANDS UP FOR DARFUR- INTRODUCTION TO CAMPAIGN
Hands up for Darfur
Co-hosts: Hands up for Darfur society and Medicines’ Sans Frontiers
How did the conflict in Darfur initially begin? Why did the situation escalate so rapidly? What is the state of affairs in the region now? If you have questions about the crisis in Darfur, a point of view that you would like to share and discuss or even if you just want to learn more about this very topical issue then this would be a great place to start. The workshop is co-hosted by the Oxford society ‘Hands Up for Darfur’ and a representative from the humanitarian charity Medicines’ Sans Frontiers.
4) MATERNAL DEATHS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Professor Lucas
Over 500,000 maternal deaths occur every year in developing countries. Why? It is assumed that over 99% of these deaths are due to factors directly associated to the pregnancy i.e. post-partum haemorrhage, sepsis, unsafe termination etc... However, this alone doesn’t explain why the lifetime risk of a maternal death is 1 in 30,000 for a female in the UK but as high as 1 in 6 for women in Sierra Leone. This workshop aims to explore the impact of the so called ‘indirect conditions’ that may lead to maternal death i.e. pre-existing diseases such as HIV, malaria and TB that are made worse by being pregnant and delivering. The challenge is to consider how, within reasonable resource expenditure, one can reduce this high toll of young mothers and fulfil the Millenium Development Goal for 2015: is it high-tech or low-tech?
5) MENTAL HEALTH AND POVERTY: FROM EVIDENCE TO ACTION
FRIENDS OF ANTARA- Timothy Lawes
4th year graduate medical student - Newcastle, BSc Environment and Economics, Chair ‘Friends of Antara UK’
Are we ignoring the greatest of all health inequalities? At the global scale, just as in our homes and communities, mental illness represents a hidden suffering:
It consitutes 12-14% of the Global Burden of Disease, but only 1% of global health expenditure.
It is associated with absolute and relative poverty.
Its individual and economic costs are extensive and enduring.
Yet in the world’s poorest nations and communities there is a chronic
shortage of mental -healthcare.
This will be an interactive workshop which aims to move participants from awareness to action. We will explore:
Mental health in resource-deprived areas, using international examples.
The multiple connections between mental health and poverty, examining case-studies from a clinical and public health perspective.
Novel solutions to local problems.
How you can get involved in a student-led organisation aiming to tackle mental illness and poverty in developing countries.
6) CRASH COURSE IN SIGN LANGUAGE
An introduction to sign language and the problems faced by the deaf community
7) AFFORDABLE SOLUTIONS
Rajaie Batniji, Devi Sridhar
Cooperation in global health – which refers largely to international funding and regulation - varies by disease area and geography. This workshop explores the expanding scope of cooperation in global health historically and considers the technical and political methods for priority-setting. We consider the current global health priorities and will discuss why it is that some disease areas are left off the current priority agenda. We close by brainstorming how the priority-setting process can better respond to the needs of poor countries.
Rajaie Batniji is a DPhil student in international relations at Oxford, studying global cooperation for health. He is on leave from his final year of medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, where he focused his clinical studies on poverty medicine. Rajaie graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with distinction from Stanford University in 2003, where he earned BA and MA degrees in History. He has worked as a consultant to the World Health Organization, is a research associate at the Global Economic Governance Programme, and is currently Junior Dean of UniversityCollege, Oxford.
8) SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE ELECTIVES
Becky Davis, Child Family Health International
Child Family Health International (CFHI) is a global family of committed professionals and students who work at the grassroots level to promote the health of the world community.
-
Community Initiatives -- healthcare for underserved communities through local medical professionals and clinics
-
Medical Supply Recovery -- collection and distribution of salvaged medical supplies
-
Global Service Learning -- medical student programs that focus on cultural competency in the health setting.
Becky has worked for the San Francisco based global health NGO, “Child Family Health International” for 2 ½ years. Prior to moving to San Francisco, Becky spent a number of years working in the hospitality industry in San Diego, where she lived after studying Spanish and learning about the ecotourism industry in Costa Rica. During her studies in the UK, Becky interned for People and Planet, Oxford, and helped write the Responsible Tourism guidelines for The Gambia. Becky has a B.A in Sociology with Development Studies from AFRAS at the University of Sussex, and a Masters in Responsible Tourism Management from the International Centre for Responsible Tourism at the University of Greenwich, London. Becky works to manage CFHI's rapidly growing network of Alumni in connection with conducting outreach and marketing for CFHI's global health education programs and other activities. Becky is UK Cultural Ambassador for Step Up Travel, an online Responsible Travel community, and takes great pride in being part of an organization which is truly working in a socially responsible and financially just manner.
9) GLOBAL IMMUNISATION PROGRAMS - SUCCESS OR FAILURE?
Ruth Levine
In a conference focussed on pandemics, disease and disaster, Ruth Levine is much-needed optimist. Her book, Millions Saved: Proven Successes in Global Health, explores the ways in which public health projects really can make a positive difference to people's lives. An internationally-recognised expert on global health and on health policy and economics, she has worked for the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, evaluating the success of the ways they use their funds for development, and she now holds a senior position in the independent US think-tank the Center for Global Development.
10) WATER PURIFICATION
This workshop will save your life! A hands-on session teaching the basics of
water purification.
Tariq Qureshi and Katherine Talbot
Wilderness Medical Society, Keble College
In the wake of a natural disaster the established water infrastructure is often
destroyed or polluted. The ability to render water safe to drink, both for a
team and a local populace is truly invaluable. This workshop aims to equip
delegates with this vital skill by introducing them to a range of water
purification techniques, both improvised and commercial.
11)CULTURAL SENSITIVITY WHEN WORKING WITH BME COMMUNITIES LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS IN THE UK
Amy Merone, Terrence Higgins Trust
THT has identified several factors that need to be considered by medical doctors when treating patients. These include: fear of HIV/AIDS, the role of the media in shaping people’s perceptions of HIV, faith, priority in life that HIV/AIDS plays, and masculinity. This workshop will encourage participants to think about the ways in which they can be more culturally aware and sensitive when working with patients from BME communities.
12) ADVOCACY AND CAMPAIGNING
RHONA MACDONALD- THE LANCET
Some tips on how to get active and how to organise local, national, and international campaigns. Come with some ideas about what you ant to campaign on
Rhona graduated in Medicine (Aberdeen, UK) in 1992 and joined The Lancet in 2006. She has worked with many different charities, and non-governmental organisations, including Medécins Sans Frontières and Oxfam, and has worked as a doctor specialising in public health and primary care in several low and middle income countries. She also been involved in several international campaigns such as MSF’s access to essential medicines campaign, Make Poverty History, and Control Arms, and has started a few campaigns of her own!
13) PROJECTS- GLOBAL HEALTH EDUCATION PROJECT
(led by Sunil and Abi)
What is Global Health?
Global Health looks at the wider influences of health, such as poverty, debt, globalisation, healthcare financing, human rights, famine, environment, conflict and the movement of populations
Ok, so what is the Global Health Education Project?
We want every medical student to be given the opportunity to learn about Global Health issues. This can occur through:
-
Intercalated BScs
-
SSCs
-
Core Curriculum of Medicine
-
Medsin Projects
-
Medsin Campaigns
14) CAMPAIGNS- HEALTHY PLANET
(led by Sarah Walpole)
Healthy Planet has three key aims:
-
to promote awareness of the link between environment and health
-
to advocate more environmental policy and action, by highlighting the importance of living within ecological limits for health and well-being
-
to encourage and enable Medsin as an organisation to operate in the most environmentally-friendly way possible
our Campaigns this Year
-
The NHS is a massive organisation, and there is plenty of room for it to clean up its act. We will be putting pressure on the government to introduce incentives to make trusts greener.
-
We will encourage medical schools to teach students about the effects of climate change as well as reducing their own ecological footprint
-
We have the opportunity to endorse the Climate and Health Council's declaration stating the links between climate and health, and attempt to encourage other organisations to agree and follow the principles to reduce their negative environmental impact.
15) LEADERSHIP
Sarah Phipps
Learn some practical skills in how to improve your leadership ability
"Leadership is understanding people and involving them to help you do a job.
That takes all of the good characteristics, like integrity, dedication of
purpose, selflessness, knowledge, skill, implacability, as well as
determination not to accept failure."
Admiral Arleigh A. Burke