Interhealth

The GHN is a part of the Global Health branch of AMSA, and functions to connect Global Health Groups from around the country. Representatives from each medical school’s GHG meet each month to discuss and share projects, ideas and initiatives. The GHN is currently developing a database of all the projects run by the different GHGs, and is looking at developing new projects in conjunction with the OakTree foundation.

For more info, news and opportunities, please go to the GHN website.

The first GHC was held in Sydney in 2005 with 50 or so delegates. 4 years later the conference has become immensely popular – in 2008 all 250 places at the conference sold out within 10 minutes of registration opening! This year the GHC will be held from July 2 – 5 in Brisbane (the week before AMSA convention). The academic programme is, as a rule, outstanding and the GHC is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about different issues within Global Health. Aside from lectures and workshops, there is are also stalls from different organisations including the GHGs with information and ideas about how you can become involved.

The International Federation of Medical Students’ Association is a network of medical students from all over the world and has numerous national member organisations (think of it as a really really large GHN with a bit of AMSA thrown in). There are 5 standing committees which run different projects and initiatives locally, nationally and internationally. These are:

SCOME:        Standing committee on Medical Education
SCORA:         Standing committee on Reproductive health including AIDS
SCOPH:         Standing committee on Public Health
SCOPE:         Standing committee on Professional Exchange
SCORE:         Standing committee on Research Exchange
SCORP:         Standing committee on Human Rights and Peace

Normally, each country’s national student body is also divided up into these standing committees. ie there is a national SCORA group. AMSA is different and doesn’t really run this way, but there are projects which fall into these different categories.

Biannual General Assemblies (GA’s) are held each March and August in different countries (most recently, the 2009 March Meeting was held in Tunisia) and are an amazing opportunity for delegates to meet students from everywhere (really!) and talk to people from places you probably never imagined yourself going. Each GA has a theme to which certain lectures, workshops and discussion groups are held. Standing committees run sessions daily and also include speakers, workshops and small discussion groups on different issues within each area. In addition to all of this, a large amount of the decision making on how to run IFMSA for the next 6 months is made at these GAs, and the plenary sessions are a must for those interested in seeing how these organisations are run. To top it all off, the end of the day’s activities are followed by a night of partying – these conferences can be an exercise in discovering just how little sleep you actually need to be functional.

For more info, contact Nick Watts at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it