The UBC Medicine Global Health Initiative (GHI) celebrates its 10th anniversary this year! Founded by medical students and faculty global health champions, GHI aimed to provide a platform for students to gain knowledge and skills in global health and develop ethical and meaningful partnerships with low resourced communities. Through collaborative planning and consultation, GHI and our community partners have worked to improve health outcomes, addressing the social determinants of health, through innovative projects that are evaluated for impact and sustainability.
We initially started with a series of workshops and three projects in India, Honduras, and Uganda, and since then have partnered with more than 13 communities in low and middle income countries across 5 continents. Students have learned about ethical engagement with vulnerable populations, participated in global health research, and gained valuable skills in cross-cultural medicine and resource management. In the past 10 years, GHI participants have presented at several international global health conferences and have published several manuscripts. In 2016, we piloted the Refugee Health Initiative (RHI), where students are paired with refugee families and to help them navigate the BC health system and facilitate a positive resettlement experience.
GHI has been instrumental in the leadership and development of pre-departure policies for student global health engagement and for implementation of pre-departure training. Nationally, GHI faculty, in association with CFMS student leaders, lead the development of national consensus core competencies in global health for Canadian medical schools. These competencies were finalized and endorsed by both the CFMS and AFMC Global Health Committee in 2015.
To learn more about GHI projects, visit our project page @ GHI
Students involved in projects will present at Recruitment Night on September 12, 2016 at MSAC 6 pm.
Medical Student Alumni Center (MSAC) at the corner of Heather Street and 12th Avenue.