Welcome to the June edition of the AMSA Global Health monthly newsletter!

We're excited to share the June edition of the AMSA Global Health newsletter, designed specifically for you. As medical students, we have the unique potential to shape a more equitable and healthy world. This newsletter will equip you with the latest updates, resources, events and opportunities in global health. Whether you're passionate about a specific cause or just starting to explore this field, we'll help you translate your ambition into action.

Please send this on to anyone you think may be interested, and to your medical student cohort at large. AMSA Global Health wants YOU to be part of our network! Subscribe to stay up to date with us and access exclusive global health content, tailored to the Australian medical student.

You can also follow us on social media for more (info, events, memes, resources, et al) - we’re @amsaglobalhealth everywhere, or you can click here for direct links.

Global Health adventures 🌟

Here’s what we’ve been up to in June:

World Refugee Week, 16 - 22 June

Our Crossing Borders team have been hard at work sharing educational materials and promoting refugee health, rights, and advocacy this month. See some of their work below (click to watch), and check out their instagram page @amsacrossingborders for more!

Victorian Senate Inquiry into Women’s Pain

AMSA Sexual and Reproductive Health and Gender Equity completed their survey for the Victorian Senate Inquiry into Women’s Pain. They also attended a meeting with MP Dr Sarah Mansfield to discuss their upcoming parliamentary submission - advocacy in action!

Gaza Advocacy Action Toolbox

• Given the scale of the current crisis in Palestine, it can be understandably overwhelming to know how to help and where to begin. AMSA Global Health is committed to educating on and taking action for threats to global health. As such, we are addressing this crisis due to its devastating impacts on health and wellbeing. This document, collated by our Reactive Advocacy team, reflects our ethical and moral responsibility to take a stand.

• This document has been endorsed by the Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW).

• If you have trouble accessing the toolbox via the attachment, it’s also accessible via our official linktree here: https://tr.ee/3HSUibsT58

Exam season

Another set of midyear exams survived! Well done team 🎉

We’re gearing up for a busy July now that everyone’s back!

We have a TikTok (yes, finally)

• Follow us here or find us ➡️ @amsaglobalhealth 

What’s on 📣

RECRUITMENT:

• These roles will be from July 2024 to June 2025. We are accepting applications until 11:59pm AEST on Sunday 30th June (TONIGHT)!

• If you are interested in applying for the Secretary role, please check out this link for more information: https://amsa.org.au/callouts/mid-year-secretaries-callout/ or apply directly here.

• If you have any questions, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help.

Keen to get involved with AMSA Global Health in the future? Watch this space (and our socials)! Here is our recruitment timeline for the rest of 2024:

While Executive Team positions require some level of AMSA experience (ideally but not necessarily within AMSA Global Health), Management Team and Subcommittee positions do not require any AMSA experience - we encourage anyone who is interested and passionate about global health to apply!

SAVE THE DATE: AMSA’s annual Global Health Conference ‘Inception’ is only a couple of months away!

• A cheeky reminder that only AMSA members can attend AMSA events (such as GHC)! If you haven’t officially joined yet, click here to sign up 🧡

OPPORTUNITY: Publish in our peer-reviewed journal!

External opportunities 🪐 

Passionate about in climate and health? Looking to expand your interests beyond AMSA Code Green?

• Get involved in Climate Writers with Eezu Tan (Gadigal / Sydney)

  • Climate Writers instagram (follow for updates!)

Upcoming conferences:

• G20 Global Health Summit | 11-12 July 2024 | Cape Town, South Africa

• AMSA Global Health Conference | 20-23 September 2024 | Adelaide, Australia

• World Health Summit | 13-15 October 2024 | Berlin, Germany (hybrid event)

• Global Model WHO | 29 October - 1 November 2024 | Geneva, Switzerland

• World Extreme Medicine Conference | 16-18 November 2024 | Edinburgh, Scotland

• Eliminating Cervical Cancer Conference | 27-29 November 2024 | Melbourne, Australia (hybrid event)

Got something you’d like us to share or promote in our newsletter? Reach out to us via [email protected] 📩

Book of the month 📖

Our Education Officer, Julia, runs monthly book club exploring key takeaways from relevant global health books. The best part? You don’t even have to read the books to participate (though you’re most welcome to), because Julia will read them for you and then give you the lowdown. Effortless learning? Insightful and engaging discussions? We love to see it.

In July, she’s reading ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua Achebe, a story about the turbulent clash between tradition and colonialism in Nigeria for protagonist Okonkwo and his tribe. It explores the profound personal and societal repercussions of social upheaval, echoing themes of identity and endurance in the face of profound change.

If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, head to our instagram ➡️ you can join our book club group chat on Instagram to get in on the discussion!

What in the world? 🌏

• Want to learn more about global health? Check out Harvard University’s free online global health courses! More info here.

• Nearly 1.8 billion adults at risk of disease from not doing enough physical activity (WHO). New data show that nearly one third (31% 😱) of adults worldwide, approximately 1.8 billion people, did not meet the recommended levels of physical activity in 2022. Read the WHO report here and the original Lancet Global Health journal article here.

• The Australian Global Health Alliance (AHGA) is Australia’s peak body for global health organisations. They are working for a strong, equitable and sustainable global health ecosystem, and driving change through national and global connections, partnerships, research and innovation, promoting best practices in global health, and advocacy.

  • Did you know? AMSA Global Health is a reciprocal member of AGHA! We have some exciting events in the pipeline together 👀

  • Want to stay in the loop? Sign up to the AGHA newsletter here.

• The Getting Rid Of Stupid Stuff (GROSS) movement is active in hospitals across the world. What Stupid Stuff have you come across in your health service? The GROSS movement, aside from having the world’s best name, encourages us to consider the aspects of system design, rostering, induction, training and more we encounter that makes for a tiresome, ineffective system. While we may not be able to get rid of all Stupid Stuff, together we can advocate for system improvements and better workflows and work lives in our health system. Read more about GROSS here, and about an example of successful health system change here.

• Healthcare workers deserve fair and equitable registration fees. AHPRA and the 15 National Boards don't currently lower fees or provide any proper mechanism or registration fee category to assist healthcare workers who take parental leave. This affects over 877,000 Australian healthcare workers, who are a diverse and predominantly female workforce. Read more and sign the petition here.

• Check out The Lancet’s post-77th World Health Assembly (WHA) article, ‘The updated International Health Regulations: good news for global health equity’ here.

• The Australian Medical Association welcomes the Senate’s support for the federal government’s world-leading vaping reforms, aimed at ending a growing public health crisis. Read more here.

• The WHO have released a ‘Global status report on alcohol and health and treatment of substance use disorders’, and it’s pretty damning stuff. Read the report here.

• Medical students’ placement poverty remains unaddressed in the federal budget. Read more from AMSA here and the ABC here. You can also sign the petition to include medical students in paid placements here!

• Some old school AMSA Global Health: A few years ago, in collaboration with AMSA MedEd, we developed AMSA Academy online modules on various global health issues. These modules involve a variety of topics such as climate change, tropical medicine, and refugee and asylum seekers. Our aim is to encourage medical students to critically think about and engage with the complexities of health on a global scale. Check them out here: AMSA Global Health online modules at AMSA Academy

That’s a wrap for June! Thank you for reading our newsletter - we hope it’s been helpful!

Don’t forget to follow us on social media - as well as the newsletter, this is one of the best ways to stay up to date with us and with other global health happenings both in Australia and around the world.

Got any questions, comments, submissions or ideas for the newsletter? We’re always happy to hear from you - please email [email protected] or [email protected] any time. We can also be reached via our social media (@AMSAGlobalHealth everywhere).

Want more info about AMSA Global Health? We’ve got you: click here 💛

Best wishes until next month!

The AMSA Global Health team 🌏