Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
    • COVID-19 articles
    • Obituary notices
  • Authors & Reviewers
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
    • Open access
    • Patient engagement
  • Physicians & Subscribers
    • Benefits for Canadian physicians
    • CPD Credits for CMA Members
    • Subscribe to CMAJ Print
    • Subscription prices
    • Obituary notices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2023
    • Avis de décès
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN

User menu

Search

  • Advanced search
CMAJ
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN
CMAJ

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
    • COVID-19 articles
    • Obituary notices
  • Authors & Reviewers
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
    • Open access
    • Patient engagement
  • Physicians & Subscribers
    • Benefits for Canadian physicians
    • CPD Credits for CMA Members
    • Subscribe to CMAJ Print
    • Subscription prices
    • Obituary notices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2023
    • Avis de décès
  • Visit CMAJ on Facebook
  • Follow CMAJ on Twitter
  • Follow CMAJ on Pinterest
  • Follow CMAJ on Youtube
  • Follow CMAJ on Instagram
News

AIDS, refugees, hunger and despair: Here's how MDs can help

Barbara Sibbald
CMAJ September 03, 2002 167 (5) 528-529;
Barbara Sibbald
CMAJ
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

The AIDS pandemic. New waves of drug-resistant TB. Thirty-nine million refugees. Although health care problems in the developing world may seem overwhelming, physicians can play many different roles in helping to solve or alleviate them.

Figure

Figure. Angola: MSF volunteer aid worker in action Photo by: Médecins Sans Frontières photo

Below are some of the Canadian organizations that are seeking help from physicians. (If we've missed a group, contact barbara.sibbald{at}cma.ca to be included in the online posting.)

Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture: This centre, based in Toronto, (www.icomm.ca/ccvt) helps some 900 survivors of torture, primarily refugees, every year. The centre is involved in treatment, public education and helping refugees who are in legal limbo because they lack documentation. Psychiatrists are in particular demand to help document cases for immigration hearings. The centre is also creating the Canadian Network for the Health of Survivors of Torture and Organized Violence, a coalition of 11 other similar organizations across Canada. For the closest organization, visit www.irct.org.

Canadian Federation of Medical Students: Medical students have several ways to get moving internationally through the CFMS (www.cfms.org), including 2 exchange programs through the International Federation of Medical Student Associations (www.ifmsa.org). Last year 80 Canadian students did 4-week clerkships though the Standing Committee on Professional Exchange. Students can also apply to the Standing Committee on Research Exchange, which sends about a dozen Canadian students to work with foreign researchers for 2 months. The CFMS also has 4 educational action programs: refugees and peace, reproduction and AIDS, public health, and medical education, and it links to university-based international programs across Canada.

Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief: Despite its name, CPAR (www .cpar.ca) doesn't send physicians abroad or engage in crisis relief. Rather, it raises money and awareness for long-term projects in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi. CPAR is helping communities become self-reliant through programs that provide safe water, better sanitation and other improvements. Physicians form the backbone of CPAR, accounting for 40% of the $6.5 million it raises annually. For every dollar donated, CPAR gets up to $3 from the Canadian International Development Agency. Physicians help organize fundraising and public-awareness events through CPAR's 4 chapters. It also hosts annual study tours (2-week visits cost about $5000) to project sites. For instant gratification, plant a tree through the CPAR Web site — CPAR has planted more than 48 million of them.

Canadian Public Health Association: If you're an expert in immunization or public health, the CPHA (www .cpha .ca) wants you. Under the Canadian International Immunization Initiative, the CPHA recruits Canadian technical consultants to help WHO and UNICEF strengthen national childhood immunization systems and eliminate childhood diseases in developing countries. Last year the CPHA sent 24 people abroad, mostly to Africa. Immunization workers stay overseas an average of 3 months, but there are also short-term contracts (2 weeks to a month) that allow doctors to work in a developing country's ministry of health. Next year it is sending teams of volunteers to Afghanistan. Travelling expenses and room and board are paid.

Canadian Red Cross: Last year the CRC (www.redcross.ca) sent 103 physicians, surgeons and other workers to help out during emergencies and disasters. At the moment there is an urgent need for experts in prosthetic devices to help victims of landmines. The CRC is also involved in disaster preparedness and spreads the word about international humanitarian law. CRC volunteers are now working in Afghanistan, Jerusalem and elsewhere. Aid workers get a salary and expenses for terms that typically last 6 months to a year. Cash donations are welcome.

Canadian Society for International Health: CSIH (www.csih.org) offers access to the Canadian International Health Registry, which matches professionals seeking employment or volunteer opportunities with the Pan American Health Organization and other organizations. CSIH also runs the International Youth Health Internships Program; its 88 host organizations have placed young Canadian professionals in more than 75 countries since September 1997. CSIH also runs 7 projects of its own.

Global Health Research Initiative: Launched in July, the GHRI aims to coordinate and improve Canada's global research efforts. The importance of international cooperation was recognized in the G8 summit's Africa Action Plan, which opened the door for international partnerships among G8 health research organizations such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The GHRI, a collaborative effort led by the CIHR's Institute of Population and Public Health, is preparing to launch new programs and research strategies (www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca).

Médecins du Monde: This spin-off of Médecins Sans Frontières has provided emergency and long-term medical and humanitarian assistance to more than 20 nations from Kosovo to South Africa (www.medecinsdumonde.org). MDM Canada, which opened in 1996, sent out 25 volunteers last year. Currently its nurses and physicians are working in Afghanistan, Haiti, Nicaragua and on the street in Montreal. Online donations to relief efforts in Afghanistan are welcome. For information, email medecinsdumonde{at}mlink.net.

Médecins Sans Frontières: MSF (www .msf.ca) is the world's leading independent international medical relief organization, with projects in 87 countries. MSF operations begin as emergency relief programs for people affected by catastrophe, and these relief programs later become rehabilitation projects that may run for several years. MSF Canada sends about 100 volunteers abroad annually. This month MSF is launching Global Health Quest, the first reality-based humanitarian Web site. It will allow users to encounter situations MSF volunteers face in the field.

Physicians for Global Survival of Canada: PGSC members are concerned about social justice and the health implications of war, nuclear weapons and violence. Membership costs $100 annually, and volunteers are always in demand (www.pgs.ca). This physician-led organization educates and promotes policies to the public and government. The organization was instrumental in the campaign to ban landmines that was launched in 1994. PGSC also fosters medical students' development through their participation on its board of directors and at national and international meetings. Funding is available. PGSC is the Canadian affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (www .ippnw.org), which has more than 60 active affiliates around the world.

Residents without Borders: The year-old Residents without Borders, an affiliate of the University of Toronto's Centre for International Health, helps residents get involved internationally through guest speakers, a listserv and foreign-placement opportunities. Each year about a dozen of its 130 members go abroad. They are now setting up a primary care project in rural Cambodia. Contact: ut.rwb{at}utoronto.ca.

University-based groups: Many universities also have medical outreach and global health programs. To find the closest organization, visit www.csih .org Sunsihprog.html.

Other opportunities: Many international organizations are also seeking physician volunteers, including www .medscout .comvolunteers, www .one world .org jobs, and www.globalhealth .org. — Barbara Sibbald, CMAJ

PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

CMAJ
Vol. 167, Issue 5
3 Sep 2002
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author

Article tools

Respond to this article
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
To sign up for email alerts or to access your current email alerts, enter your email address below:
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on CMAJ.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
AIDS, refugees, hunger and despair: Here's how MDs can help
(Your Name) has sent you a message from CMAJ
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the CMAJ web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
AIDS, refugees, hunger and despair: Here's how MDs can help
Barbara Sibbald
CMAJ Sep 2002, 167 (5) 528-529;

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
‍ Request Permissions
Share
AIDS, refugees, hunger and despair: Here's how MDs can help
Barbara Sibbald
CMAJ Sep 2002, 167 (5) 528-529;
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • AIDS, Africa and indifference: a confession
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Saying goodbye to CMAJ News
  • How Canadian hospitals are decreasing carbon emissions
  • National survey highlights worsening primary care access
Show more News

Similar Articles

Collections

  • Topics
    • Global health
    • Human rights
    • Medical consequences of conflict

 

View Latest Classified Ads

Content

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Collections
  • Sections
  • Blog
  • Podcasts
  • Alerts
  • RSS
  • Early releases

Information for

  • Advertisers
  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • CMA Members
  • CPD credits
  • Media
  • Reprint requests
  • Subscribers

About

  • General Information
  • Journal staff
  • Editorial Board
  • Advisory Panels
  • Governance Council
  • Journal Oversight
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright and Permissions
CMAJ Group

Copyright 2023, CMA Impact Inc. or its licensors. All rights reserved. ISSN 1488-2329 (e) 0820-3946 (p)

All editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association or its subsidiaries.

To receive any of these resources in an accessible format, please contact us at CMAJ Group, 500-1410 Blair Towers Place, Ottawa ON, K1J 9B9; p: 1-888-855-2555; e: cmajgroup@cmaj.ca

CMA Civility, Accessibility, Privacy

 

Powered by HighWire