American Medical Student Association

Global Health Committee

UPROOT POVERTY!

Economic disparities lie at the root of health problems the world over. The staggering poverty that sabotages the households of billions of our fellow humans must be a focus of our advocacy. Including issues like debt relief in our efforts will help to provide our work some measure of sustainability.

Explore our ongoing projects!

• AIDS Advocacy Network
• Global Education & Opportunities

Get Involved

Upcoming Meetings and Opportunities

• University Coalitions for Global Health

Fight AIDS, Globally & Locally

• Join the AIDS Advocacy Network (AAN)
• World AIDS Day

Global Education and Opportunities

• AMSA International Opportunities
• AMSA/IFMSA Research Exchanges
• AMSA/IFMSA Clinical Exchanges
• Go-Abroad Toolkit
  Streamline your exploration of options by asking all the important questions!
• Global Health Scholars Program
  Investigating grassroots efforts to improve primary care systems in developing nations

Health & Human Rights

• Global Pulse, AMSA's International Health Journal
• Global Pulse Journal Blog

Policy

The Global HEALTH Act of 2010

• Representative Barbara Lee (CA-9th) introduced the Global HEALTH Act to improve health systems and global health workforce on March 23 – is your Representative a supporter? Call the Congressional switchboard (202-224-3121) to ask your Congressman to become a co-sponsor. 
  Background on the Global HEALTH Act
  Global HEALTH Act Call-In Action

The President’s Global Health Initiative

• Read USAID’s document on the Global Health Initiative (released 2/1/10)
• Read what advocacy groups outline as the key recommendations for a successful GHI
• Kaiser Family Foundation’s recent Policy Brief on the GHI 

Resources

• The New Physician Magazine Article Archives
  International Health
• Global Health Projects at the Local Chapter
• AMSA's Local Project Directory

PUBLICATIONS

• A Student's Guide to International Health (pdf 82KB)
  First-hand information about international experiences and how to set up an elective-from the student perspective. 1993
• Creative Funding for International Electives
  The popular and useful guide provides an introduction to traditional and non-traditional fundraising sources for medical students planning international electives. Jointly prepared by the International Health Medical Education Consortium (IHMEC) and AMSA. 1997
• Bringing International Health Home (pdf 273KB)
  Applying International Health Principles to Underserved Communities at Home. 1999
• Medical Student Activism: A Primer on Domestic and International Tobacco Control (pdf 122KB)
  Provides an overview of the domestic and international harms resulting from tobacco use and its promotion by multinational corporations, a timeline of key events and an introduction to available resources.
• The Global Opportunities Tool (GO Tool) 
  Discover unique educational and training experiences in reproductive health settings around the world. Any healthcare student interested in broadening their reproductive health training may search the GO Tool for clinical and non-clinical opportunities using an interactive flash map. Users can share sites via e-mail, write an online review of their experience, and access supplementary travel and funding resources. Organizations can recruit students by listing program information online.
• AMSA Global Health Recommended Reading List

PRESENTATIONS & PROJECT GUIDES

• Global Health Disparities (1.1mb ppt)
  - Accompanying GHAC Quiz
• HIV AIDS Cancer Project-in-a-Box
• Medical Students for Earth: Environmental Health Activism for Medical Students (pdf 68KB)
  Lists environmental health projects that can be done by groups or individuals. Includes resources and contact organizations. 1997
• 2008 Premed Global Health Leadership Institute Presentations
  Access to Essential Medicines (ppt)
  Global Gag Rule (ppt)
  Maternal Mortality & Human Rights (ppt)
  Medical Tourism (ppt)
  PEPFAR (ppt)

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

• Environmental and Occupational Medicine Electives (pdf 93KB)
  Prepared by the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics and AMSA. Opportunities available with medical schools and environmental, labor and occupational health organizations. 1996
• International Health Electives for Medical Students
• Where in the World? (pdf 26KB)
  Overseas Medical Opportunities (2000)

SALE ITEMS

• Where There Is No Doctor (2002)
  More than two million copies in print in 80 languages. One of the most widely used health care manuals in developing countries today. How to diagnose, treat and prevent common diseases. Places special importance on the active role villagers must take in their own health care.
• ¿Qué Pasó? (1993)
  A guide to medical Spanish. A handy aid in the diagnosis and treatment of the most common adult and pediatric problems presenting to the clinic, emergency room and physician's office.

• Human Health and Global Environmental Change
  The Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical has an educational package focused on specific aspects of environmental change that is now available online for all medical students free of charge. This class, entitled Human Health and Global Environmental Change, aims to provide students with an understanding of the fundamental dependency of human health on the health of the global environment. It includes lectures by world experts and provides learning modules that can be integrated into pre-existing medical school curricula. The ultimate goal of this project is to get medical students interested, educated, and involved with environmental change and human health. The course consists of lecture videos, PowerPoint presentations, and background reading material.