IFMSA (International Federation of Medical Students Association) - International Training on Refugees Health)

Dear friends of IFMSA and SCORP,

With great pleasure we announce the successful completion of the International Training on Refugee Health (ITRH) - Reaching out to a Humanity Unseen that took place in the historic city of Peshawar Pakistan from 24th to 30th August 2003. This transnational IFMSA project was a joint collaboration between IFMSA-Pakistan, IMCC Denmark, IFMSA-Sweden, FiMSIC Finland and IFMSA-USA. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Marie Stopes International and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) were the implementing partners of this project.

For the first time in the history of IFMSA, nearly 80 medical student leaders from over 10 countries participated in this intensive week-long training on refugee health issues. The training was in great detail, both academically and socially and was one of its kind in the region. The highlight was a field trip to one of the oldest refugee camps in Pakistan near the Afghan border, the Shamshatoo Refugee camp where the participants visited a refugee vocational center, food and ration distribution site and a Basic Health Unit run by the Directorate of Afghan Health and UNHCR jointly. Inside the Basic Health Unit, IFMSA students attended the maternity ward and the paediatrics ward and the students present made substantial donations for the upgradation of this center. The speakers for this training were from Pakistan, Afghanistan and internationally. These included speakers from UNHCR, MedAct, The University of Nations, Flinders University Australia, IRC, UNICEF etc.

There were two Round Table Discussions on two separate days on the following topics:

-Conflict Resolution: Theories and Ideas
-Role of Media in Refugee Health Issues: Searching for Partnerships

Each day was divided into thematic working days and the participants discussed and learnt about issues ranging from:

- Introduction to Refugee Health
- Arrival in a Refugee Camp
- Structure of Health care in a camp
- Epidemiology in Refugee Camps
- Maternal and Child Health / Emergency Obstetrics Care
- Nutrition and Immunization
- Mental Health and PTSD
- Environmental Health and Sanitation
- Conflict Resolution

Extensive case studies, individual and group presentations, lectures, demo's and films and documentaries were shown so that participants could learn key health issues and intervention dynamics in order to serve the refugee population in an effective manner.

This training would not have been possible without the support and commitment of the IFMSA NMO's from the developed North. On an organizational level, this training has proved that thematic partnerships between IFMSA NMO's from the developed north and the developing South can not only result in fruitful and beneficial such projects but can also play an extremely important role in building the capacity and democracy in relatively new NMO's such as IFMSA- Pakistan. Today IFMSA-Pakistan stands more stronger, united and focussed with a sense of direction and purpose. Such partnerships can also help in realizing the mission of IFMSA to more than just words in which medical students from member organizing countries can help address the inequalities that shape the health of our planet.

On behalf of the LOC, we would like to thank the ITRH IOC, the IFMSA Executive Board and our partners in helping us achieve this goal. The IOC coordinators, Marie Bruun and Neils Egholm (IMCC Denmark) and the ITRH Fundraising coordinator Hannu Vessari (FiMSIC Finland) deserve special mention for their passion and commitment to this project.

The Road Ahead:

3 students who had attended the workshop shall be doing a 4 week "assistance-ship" at the Shamshatoo Refugee Camp in December. This is in line with the ITRH goal of producing interested and motivated students of medicine to can work to relieve the health conditions of refugees on a larger scale.

We shall be sending regular updates as we in IFMSA together develop the Refugee Health Project further and make it an integral part of SCORP activities.

With best wishes,

Tariq Jawaid Alam
ITRH LOC Coordinator
IFMSA Liaison Officer to UNHCR 2002-03

Permanent Officer at the IFMSA GS til 30 Sep 2003
c/o WMA, BP 63, 012012 Ferney-Voltaire, France
Phone +33-450-404759, fax +33-450-405937
Mobile +41-764 718 152, pers. fax: +49-69-1330 6380 874