EMR Newsletter January 2013

Editorial Pushpa Hossain January 2013

EMR DA for publications 2012-2013

Dear EMRians and IFMSA family all over the world, It's with great pleasure that I present you this edition of our beloved EMR Newsletter.

In this edition, we're trying to give you an in-depth insight of our region. As you read through our pages, you will notice that there is something for everyone to enjoy.

This is indeed an exciting period in our region; what with the Arab spring in full blossom and us EMRians nearing our 10th anniversary...

The whole region is full of anticipation and buzzing with excitement and motivation to take a step forward in each and every aspect of our work.

I'd like to thank our regional team for their help and support in producing this edition of the newsletter.

Special thanks goes to our amazing RC Ms. Mona Faramawy for her constant encouragement and support.

I hope you have fun reading this edition as much as we had producing it.

Enjoy!

Pushpa Hossain Editor In Chief & Designer

Welcome Message Dear EMR Family, A new edition of our Regional newsletter, a new regional meeting to be experienced and rocked by EMRians and new great achievements of you to be shared and published.

With the 4th edition of EMR Newsletter, our region proves once more the great potentials, excitement and commitment our members have toward IFMSA and toward the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Receiving such marvelous projects, articles and updates from you was a great responsibility for us to make sure that your work will reach other medical students all over the world within IFMSA and here we are delivering the voice of EMR to the whole IFMSA Family through this edition.

This year EMRians are gathering again in the Sunny Tunisia to share ideas, exchange experiences and to meet once more within the warm environment of EMR9. Our theme event for this year is ''Emergency Medicine'' and EMRians will be experiencing a new taste Emergency Medicine through very interactive hands-on workshops and seminars.

Also, EMRians will be on time this year with two new events taking place for the first time in our Regional Meetings; “The Global Health Debate�, during which our members will be debating this year about "Public vs. Private Healthcare".

The purpose of this event is to encourage active participation and global thinking within EMRians, thus, aiming to empower the debating skills and expanding the knowledge about Global Health issues in our members. The other event, "EMRx", will be another new idea to be implemented, it'll be aiming to encourage Members in the region to express their passions and believes and to inspire their friends and colleagues with ideas that are worth spreading.

Next year our region will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the EMR Regional Meetings; which will be very special for us to see in our region. It feels just like yesterday that our region started to have an annual gathering; we managed to grow fast and efficiently map the region within IFMSA. So, I highly encourage you all to start preparing from now for this very special event. Let's make it a new milestone for EMR to be remembered many years ahead.

Finally, I want to thank our awesome EMR Publications Developmental Assistant, Ms.Pushpa Hossain for getting the fourth edition of EMR newsletter in such elegant and friendly edition.

Also, I'd like to thank the whole EMR team for working very hard this term; starting from ensuring highly professional sessions during EMR moving on to develop EMR Database and enhancing each opportunity to develop the region. Big thanks to the whole EMR Regional Team and a very special thanks to all IFMSA Officials who truly supported us this term.

And I can't conclude without expressing my sincere thanks and appreciation to Associa-Med and EMR9 OC for hosting EMR9 that will definitely exceed your expectations.

See you all very soon in the green lands of Tunisia, Mona M. Faramawy EMR RC 2012-2013

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Regional projects & initiatives.

EMR SCOPH: New Start & New Challenges As we all know that SCOPH represents the community service arm of IFMSA; especially in our region that suffers from poor health education and bad traditional lifestyles .Thus, obligating us SCOPHians to meet great challenges to eradicate public health dangers in our countries.

New policy will be followed this term to enhance transnational Fekry El Bagory cooperation between EMR SCOPH RA NMOs. This is in order to magnify our impact on the problems that threat our communities. This will be done through periodic gatherings, cooperation, & transnational projects.

Projects Creating new projects which will unite all EMR NMOs to work against the common public health problems. This will be done after setting discussion meetings that will save our efforts & increase cooperation between us.

Examples for these projects are: SCOPH Exchange- Renal failure- Diabetes – Hepatitis.

Also, it will depend on periodic surveys that will be sent to define EMR needs.

Communication Connecting the EMR NPOs & regional coordinators through online meetings, surveys & mailing lists will provide sustainable communication for a clearer vision & work implementation.

Cooperation Through working on similar projects & having the same work identity that will give marvelous sense for EMR SCOPH work. That can be carried out through: having SCOPH drop box that will be used for public health materials, resources, & designs sharing - SCOPH EMR online meetings SCOPH EMR session - Periodic surveys -

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Cooperation Through working on similar projects & having the same work identity that will give marvelous sense for EMR SCOPH work. That can be carried out through: having SCOPH drop box that will be used for public health materials, resources, & designs sharing - SCOPH EMR online meetings SCOPH EMR session - Periodic surveys Regional projects & initiatives.

Meetings Are very important ways of communication. It should be useful as well to ensure full of cooperation, exchange of skills, knowledge, & attitudes, thus, gaining a lot of precious results that can push SCOPH work forward in EMR NMOs. Reporting & follow-up Working as NPO makes me have good experience on reporting methods, so, I can provide periodic reports about EMR SCOPH activities & follow-up techniques. This will help in sustaining a regular feedback system which will help us to modify any defects and that will grantee perfect & effective work.

All of the previously mentioned methods will increase & support our cooperation and lead

EMR SCORP: Survey the way towards an effective region in public health.

We started our work by SCORP EMR survey. It was needed because at first we needed to know about SCORP probMelika Hanifiha, Sana Saboui lems and needs in our Co-SCORP RA region, also what SCORPions consider as hot topics in EMR and their expectation from the SCORP RAs. A Google survey was made, 11 persons (NORPs and LORPs) participated in this survey.

You can find results below.

SCORP EMR needs: Financial

support and sources of sustainable

funding Intensive training and experience support Some prepared seminars and introductions to human rights and related issue A data base, that any NORP or LORP can get back to, that has documents, movie files and any related materials that can be used in sessions and trainings Helping refugees in three parts of my country, from three neighbor countries, be beneficiary of our SCORP activities Making the whole community aware of Human rights and their right to health Increasing awareness about projects‟ planning and importance of projects‟ sustainability SCORP EMR problems: Lack

of organized management strategy Getting people to be involved Making sure that the experience from older students and the ones that have been involved before passed on to the new ones. Finance and fundraising for projects Lack of experience and training Mostly, many of issues of SCORP need to be carefully discussed before applied due to political situation EMR hot topics

Stigma

against mentally ill patients Patient's rights violations by students and health care workers Child abuse Syrian Crisis Refugees

Human

rights Elderly people rights People with special needs Natural disasters Effect of wars What EMRians expect SCORP RAs?

To

stimulate cooperation between EMR NMOs to know all the SCORP projects. Good organization of SCORP EMR. Having a report of all the SCORP session Organizing simple actions like sending photos, videos, or reports on different topics or holding some competitions. On one hand, to be activist; and on the other hand, to know each other as EMR SCORPions An active mailing list Getting more training, Get more knowledge about SCORP in the world Trainings on how to run new ideas in our society Getting assistance in transnational projects and make national projects transnational ones Tackling more of the humanitarian aspects in our community, such as child abuse, children with disabilities, human rights for shelter and food , etc.

By this information we understand what our priorities in SCORP EMR are, what we should put in SCORP agenda for EMR9 and how we should support SCORP EMR. All participants agreed to have project database. The NORPs agreed to send every three months a report and all participants were ready to rock SCORP EMR this term.

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EMR SCOPE: Back to the Roots Unlike the other Standing Committees, SCOPE does not have much to do with research, projects, public health, awareness campaigns, and such, locally or internationally. Instead, its main objective is "to promote the cultural underCarl Joe standing and the cooperation SCOPE RA among medical students and other health professionals, through international exchanges.” In addition, SCOPE provides a means by which the “doctors of the future” can experience medicine in another culture and thus become more sensitive to the differences that exist in health systems around the globe. This educational and cultural experience is organized entirely by medical students, for medical students.

The EMR is a crescent-shaped region that borders the Mediterranean Sea and extends from Iran in the East to Morocco in the West, and includes various countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, and Tunisia among others. Incidentally, unlike other regions of the world, only the EMR is considered to have witnessed the birth of modern civilization. In fact, a quick search would yield results that all point to the Middle East as being the “cradle of civilization,” having encompassed ancient regions such as Mesopotamia, the Levant, Canaan, the Persian Plateau, and Egypt. It is also where Christianity and Islam, today‟s two major religions, were born.

It can thus be said that the EMR in ancient times was the epicenter of an earthquake that shook the world, dispersing its knowledge and richness, and sending its inhabitants to different countries to exchange ideas, values, and ways of life.

Had IFMSA existed then, I think that SCOPE would have been by far the busiest and most successful Standing Committee, hands-down. It seems that SCOPE and the

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EMR were made for one another from the beginning. Even today, SCOPE is the main – if not the only – organization that provides medical students of the region with exchange opportunities. Unfortunately, it looks like somewhere along the way, we EMRians have neglected this point.

Today, the EMR faces a big challenge when it comes to incoming students. Regional instability as well as segregation and negative publicity have seriously damaged these students‟ view of us, hindering these foreigners from seeing the hidden beauties of our region. These issues also prevent them from realizing the flagrant exaggeration of the media.

And so, we delve into a vicious cycle that will keep on hurting us as long as we do not take action.

When I presented my candidature for the position of SCOPE RA for the EMR, I was very well aware of the aforementioned facts.

In my letter of motivation, I included possible solutions to these problems – most of which were presented and initiated by the previous RAs – which I would like to reiterate here, hoping it reaches a bigger audience.

First and foremost, the EMR needs to become a unified region, where NMOs with well-established exchange programs give their support to the newly established NMOs in SCOPE, such as Morocco and Libya. This reinforces the exchange programs of both NMOs and expands their exchange opportunities by making them more attractive to incoming students. It is as they say: “One hand washes the other.” Once the EMR appears as a unified region, it will automatically draw in more exchanges and make the NEOs sign more contracts.

Equally important is a proper and efficient Marketing Strategy for SCOPE in the EMR. While my predecessors have launched such a strategy, much extensive work still needs to be done so that we will be able to increase the region‟s positive publicity. Part of this marketing strategy is developing a joint EMR Video in which our exchanges, clerkships, and our rich and diverse culture are promoted. With the help of this term‟s

wonderful team, I hope that significant progress will be made in this area, especially during the Regional Meeting where we will all be working together for a common goal: advancing our beloved region.

Thirdly, as EMR RA, I will provide assistance to the international community should any turmoil arise. The media transmits a lot of false news, leading many western NEOs to worry about sending their students to specific regions. This assistance can be in the form of providing up-to-date information about the safety of visiting these countries whenever a “crisis” is publicized.

It thus goes without saying that for any project to be successful, good communication, coordination and understanding, within a healthy collaborative teamwork atmosphere, are a must. Bill Clinton perfectly exemplifies this point with a quote that fits with the whole SCOPE message: “We all do better when we work together. Our differences do matter, but our common humanity matters more.”

In conclusion, I think it is safe to say that none of this can be possible without the help of each and every willing EMRian: from the exchange student, to the NEO, to the RA. This is no easy task with many problems certainly arising along the way, and some even already waiting for us.

One of the biggest challenges we are facing now – SCOPE in general, and the EMR in particular – is that of the New Database.

Many NEOs are apprehensive about this change and are more comfortable using the Old Database, fearing errors and problems – and rightfully so. However, this change is good. The New Database presents a major milestone and a new beginning for SCOPE, and we EMRians could definitely use a new beginning after all the problems that we have experienced in the not-so-distant-past. So why not work together on making this database, our medium of exchange, successful?

After all, we are the ones who started the “exchanges” 5,000 years ago, right?

So, I ask of you readers to join me in bringing back the EMR to its former glory, and through SCOPE, disseminate that to the rest of the world.

EMR SCORE It‟s a great pleasure for me to be part of the EMR team for this season. Our region has gone through many remarkable advances recently, and I am extremely proud to share some of that with you here. But before I go on to talk about SCORE and exchanges in the EMR, let me Maysah Al-Mulla start by introducing myself. My SCORE RA name is Maysah Al-Mulla, a 5th year medical student at RCSI, and the current NORE in IFMSA-Bahrain and SCORE RA in the EMR. Now enough about me, let‟s talk about our amazing region and my amazing SCOREans.

Tunisia our EMR10 host has impressed me with their very organized and efficient work, not only in organizing our regional meeting, but also by having many SCORE related successful events in the past season. They managed to have 2 active local committees and integrated them very well into the IFMSA life.

LC Sfax managed to get 8 projects and both LCs created their own local charters for managing the distributions of the contracts they had in a fair way based on different precise criteria for outgoings. For the upcoming season, SCORE Tunisia planning a special SCORE project that will be happening for the first time both nationally and regionally (the first EMR NMO that will be doing it) which is the very famous SCORE-PET (SCORE PreExchange Training). Another NMO that I would like to point at their very productive work is IFMSA-Egypt, who will be hosting an SRT in the coming April/May months. SCORE Oman has also caught my attention with their 5th edition of the “best research idea competition”, which has inspired many other NMOs to follow their lead. IFMSA-Bahrain, my homeland, has also managed to get on the EMR SCORE train and keep up with the race by having 2 of the SCORE RAs in a row from Bahrain, and by putting up a great effort in launching SCORE and SCOPE exchanges in another medical university (RCSI), hosting 4 exchange students for the first time last summer. All the EMR NMOs have made me very proud and happy to be part of this incredibly talented family.

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EMR SCOME At the beginning of your road as medical student, you might have believed that you‟re on a straight way to heaven; however, it feels more of a rollercoaster. You have ups and downs while going to classes, studying tons of books and passing Mohamed Meshref exams till you finally become SCOME RA a doctor. In The Eastern Mediterranean Region medical students are facing a lot of challenges they have to cope with!!

Medical education has rules; there are rules about admission, curriculum, courses, electives, assessment, attendance, quality etc.

And everyone knows the rules of his school.

Has anyone thought about who put those rules?! Whether they are correct and fair or not?! Students are the main customers of the medical education system and they should be involved in these rules, they have the right to draw their road to the future.

EMR SCOMEdians are playing an active part to help their classmates to deal with studying challenges; by analyzing the current situation and setting plans to meet their needs and satisfy their requirements as future doctors. They do not only work on courses and trainings to enforce students but also work hard to make their options after graduation more obvious, and their choice to be easier.

SCOME is the students‟ voice; working on policy statements towards governments, accreditation bodies, qual-ity assurance bodies, national and international institutions and organizations and so on to deliver students‟ needs.

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Being a medical student is a great challenge; and we must believe that we can all contribute and improve not only the outcomes, but also the pathway to the outcomes. Thus, making our journey all the more enjoyable and efficient.

SCOMEdians all over the world are energetic and creative. But also all medi-cal students are. We‟re all different and have dif-ferent interests, but in the end we all deserve the best medical education and we‟re working on making it happen.

Finally, if you need any help with SCOME work in your NMO or need any resources; I‟ll be glad to offer help. Just send me an Email and we can have a meeting; I‟m always available.

EMR SCORA In AM12 in Mumbai, India, I had the honor of facilitating the SCORA EMR sessions and got to see firsthand how much SCORA has grown since my first EMR sessions in AM11 in Copenhagen, Denmark just one year ago.

And this year we have no thoughts of slowing down.

Joe Cherabie SCORA RA

This year saw multiple amazing feats in SCORA EMR. IFMSA-Egypt won second place in Project Presentations for the Rex Crossley Awards for their awe inspiring Female Genital Mutilation Peer Education Project.

IFMSA Tunisia and IFMSA Iran both won the Best Project award in the SCORA Project Fair for campaign against women‟s violence and HIV picture book projects respectively.

Plus, SCORA EMR has joined many of the SCORA Transnational Projects including SHAPE, IlluminAIDS, and SCORA Exchange to name a few.

Our presence is becoming more and more known within SCORA International, and this is a great thing from a place once considered one of the smallest regions represented in SCORA. But there is much more work to do.

Furthermore, we held a condom distribution through the major pubbing districts in Beirut as well as a Free Hug campaign, decreasing discrimination and giving mini-Peer Ed session about safe sex practices and HIV transmission.

As you know, SCORA‟s work I feel is one of the most important in the EMR due to the vast Associa-Med Tunisia also created an amazlack of knowledge concerning campaign entitled “Fight “SCORA EMR is moving to ing issues related to reproHIV and AIDS, not those livductive health and HIV/ make a difference within the ing with it”. They promoted an AIDS. And this lack of anti-discrimination campaign knowledge is leading to a EMR region with respect to throughout Tunisia, setting up rise in HIV/AIDS within our stands and giving talks about the lives of PLWHA! region. In fact, the MENA HIV facts. They also had an region has seen an in- Each and everyone of our amazing Facebook and crease in newly diagnosed Online campaign, posting piccases of HIV of 35% over members sought to find the tures and awareness camthe last ten years whereas biggest problem within our paigns fighting discrimination every other region in the of PLWHA. region and decided to fight world has seen a drop in Algeria Le Souks created a the number of new HIV it, despite the societal video which they posted on cases, including Africa.

Youtube which received hunThis only serves to highpressures present within dreds of views, also fighting light the importance of work discrimination against our region. ” in the EMR, through Peer PLWHA. Education and our World AIDS Day camAnd finally, IFMSA-Iran held an HIV Nationpaigns. al Week, taking place in three cities in Iran, And this year, I‟m happy to report that there where workshops were held in parks, train were many fantastic World AIDS Day camstations, maternal houses, and universities, paigns that took place throughout the EMR, and articles were published in various magawith the major issue covered being to fight zines and journals. discrimination against people living with HIV All in all, SCORA EMR is moving to make a and AIDS which is especially prominent in the difference within the EMR region with respect EMR. to the lives of PLWHA. Each and everyone of IFMSA-Egypt held their World AIDS Day our members sought to find the biggest probcampaign in not 1, not 2, but 18 universities lem within our region and decided to fight it, throughout Egypt, promoting HIV awareness despite the societal pressures present within via mainly informational pamphlets and even our region. Not only that, our peer education holding a short film competition for people to programs are thriving with many participants submit videos concerning discrimination from the EMR taking part in the IFMSA Interagainst people living with HIV/AIDS. national Peer Education Training, and not onIn LeMSIC Lebanon, the campaign was enly that, for the first time ever, we will have an titled “Be Positive about HIV”, with the hopes EMR Peer Education Training within EMR9 in of decreasing the negative connotation and Tunisia!! discrimination against PLWHA. Also, we held SCORA EMR is thriving and it is my hope to our annual World AIDS Day Fundraising concontinue in this trend! With hard work and cert featuring Tania Saleh, which raised over dedication, as well as constant contact be$8000 for LeMSIC SCORA‟s CD4 Count fund tween the NORA‟s and their RA, we can truly which goes to pay for CD4 counts for patients strive to make this year special and move in various hospitals and centers throughout SCORA EMR forward to become stronger seeing as CD4 counts are not covered by inand more…SCORAlicious! :-P surance companies in Lebanon.

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The Human Doctor “Why didn‟t you kick her out yet? Why are you still here woman!

Get your kid and husband and off to your home!” the Zaid H. Imam man screamed IFMSA-Jo while she sat cross-legged near the foot of her bed, oblivious to the moans and cries of her mother.

She was in a different world; one where her hair grew long and blazed golden under the sun, one where she was standing in a white coat over a child whispering gentle words, and one where the man would disappear and be replaced by a field of flowers.

This young girl was Razan, an 11 year old girl inflicted with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) at a hospital in Jordan. Razan was admitted to the hospital months ago, and her treatment fees were paid for by a boon; before the boon got discontinued and the hospital‟s manager who is a doctor “by profession” raged on them day and night asking them to leave in the worst manner possible.

This story is just one of the tens of stories happening in Jordan on a daily basis. Sadly this example is a portrayal of a phenomenon currently on the rise. Doctors and other medical professionals are dealing with patients as materialistic objects disregarding all humane forms of treatment. The hospital manager in the previous situation isn‟t expected to keep the patient in but is expected to be able to break the bad piece of news in a professional manner.

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The major problem to address however is not in the doctors of today but in the doctors of the future. Students in medical facilities often look to their supervising doctors as their mentors and seek to follow in their footsteps, so shutting our eyes blind to this problem is going to cause a crisis in years to come.

This fueled a team of enthusiastic IFMSAians at Jordan University of Science and Technology to start working on a project which they titled „Human Doctor‟ with the aim of restoring the values that were lost over the years among medical professionals.

The project in brief The project will concentrate on three major disciplines which are very poorly developed in our lives at university. The three major disciplines are communication skills, breaking bad news, and medical ethics. The project will aim to focus on important issues in these three disciplines delivering the message in the form of interactive workshops or a symposium on the topic to be carried out in 2013.

Maintaining Objectivity The three disciplines are very broad topics.

To make sure the focus will be on the important issues, input is to be collected from health professionals, from patients and from students to set the material for the workshops.

The workshops are going to incorporate experienced medical professionals in the topics as well as patients sharing their stories and experiences.

A brilliant future In conclusion, the project is still in its early stages of planning but the team hopes that one day they will see the fruits of their project in the doctors of tomorrow, and as one wise man once said: “A tongue has no bones, but is strong enough to break a heart”.

Be Positive about HIV! "What's positive about HIV?” one might ask. Well, the lovely members of LeMSIC SCORA and everyone who participated in its annual World AIDS Day Campaign of 2012 were definitely personifying the positivity that all of SCORA universally aims for. A positive attitude, positive support, positive smile, positive hope - This is the "Positive About HIV" that was relentlessly asked about throughout the past month.

In Lebanon, World Aids Day 2012 was definitely a huge step forward for a s o c i e t y which often views people living with HIV/AIDS in a negative light and was instead asked to be a little more positive in their attitudes towards PLWHA. LeMSIC- SCORA organized a two-week campaign as a fundraiser, gathering money so that those living with HIV can perform the test for their CD4 counts- a costly test that is not covered for neither by the Lebanese government nor by insurance companies. The campaign started on the first of December and ended on the 15th with a concert featuring Tania Saleh - the genuinely SCORA-hearted, exquisitely talented, Lebanese singer!

For December 1st, the true World AIDS Day, we in LeMSIC SCORA set up stands in various diners throughout Beirut where we spread awareness and information about HIV in Lebanon and centers where one can get tested freely and anonymously for HIV. We also sold tickets for the concert, T-shirts with this year‟s slogan printed on it and spoke to people promoting our campaign and the importance of not discriminating against people living with HIV/AIDS. On that same weekend, we held a condom distribution throughout 2 of the major pubbing districts in Beirut. Pubs, clubs and all of Beirut‟s nightlife was jamming with LeMSIC SCORA‟s enthusiasm for HIV awareness with all of its members running throughout the streets of Beirut spreading awareness, giving mini -Peer Ed sessions, and distributing free hugs as well as over 4000 condoms, spreading the word

about the importance of using sexual protection and the qualities of a good condom .

The following two weeks were even crazier! We had media coverage with interviews on various national TV stations, radio interviews and promotions, magazine articles, blogs, Facebook events, and stands on almost all medical campuses throughout Lebanon! All of LeMSIC SCORA‟s members were thrilled and pushed really hard to make this campaign successful, whether it be by giving 50 free hugs in an hour or taking a moment to speak to a student about the facts of HIV transmission. We held bake sales, photo-shoots with a giant +ve sign, guitar playing, dancing, and some diving free hugs (no one was harmed of course), all in order to get people to think more positively about HIV.

Finally, the Big Day that everyone had been impatiently waiting for arrived! The annual World EMR SCORP: AIDS Day Concert featuring Lebanese Underground Superstar Tania Saleh!! And as everyone Survey expected, the TANIA ROCKED THE HOUSE!!

She sang her heart out for our cause and made sure everyone was on their feet dancing and having a great time. It was simply unforgettable and a perfect ending to all the hard work and dedication that had occurred in the weeks before.

Simply said, the campaign was a success which left people thinking a little more positively about HIV. People to this date are still talking about the concert and the campaign with big smiles on their faces and it is our hope in LeMSIC SCORA that this positivity spreads to those affected by HIV/ AIDS, for they more than anyone can use a little more positivity in their lives! So Be Positive about HIV, and let‟s fight to make a difference.

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Navid Manouchehri

Where hope dies, Parnaz Daneshpajouhnejad IFMSA-Iran

compassion prevails‌

Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul.

If one member is afflicted with pain, Sarah Hosseinpoor IFMSA-Iran

Sarah Mozafarpour IFMSA-Iran

Other members uneasy will remain.

If you've no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you cannot retain!

Saadi Shirazi, Iranian Poet (1184/1283)

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On Saturday, August 11th 2012 at 4:53 PM local time (12:23 GMT) two extremely cruel earthquakes with an interval of eleven minutes, occurred in East Azarbaijan province, northwestern of Iran.

The Iranian International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES) reported a magnitude of 6.3 and 6.4 on Richter Magnitude Scale, at a depth of less than 10 kilometers. The nearest city to the epicenter (60 kilometers from Tabriz) was Ahar, a city with a population of about one hundred thousand. More than 300 aftershocks with magnitudes between 2.5 and 5.3 that took place in depths like three or four kilometers, have also struck the area following the initial twin earthquakes.

The earthquake was also felt in the two neighboring countries, Armenia and Azerbaijan, with no major damage reported.

According to the published reports more than three hundred people were killed, around 5000 people were injured and more than 16000 were left homeless.

State TV reported that out of a total of 537 in the affected area, more than 365 villages were heavily destroyed.

Twenty villages were also totally leveled with the ground. Over 12,000 houses were completely destroyed or heavily damaged and many people have been trapped in the rubble. Electricity and phone lines were all down after the quakes in the area.

People were scared. They did not want to go back into their houses in the fear of aftershocks. Red Crescent officials could come up with the most important, very first needs of victims. The list included warm cloths, wheelchairs, blankets and beds, tents, walkers for the injured, portable toilets, edible food and water, wound dressing and bandages, band aides and first aid kit.

Apart from the authorities and Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) relevant assistance, Iranian people have come out in thousands to help their fellow Iranians in Azarbaijan..They shared their empathy through donating their own blood.

Flip over to continue...

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They were hundreds of first-time blood donators in blood transfusion centers in Tehran, Karaj and Qom making a show of love and understanding, which will always be remembered. The blood centers were open till hours past midnight for donors only to keep up with the demand for everlasting queues of concerned people who had heard about shortages of blood supplies. Manager of Tehran blood transfusion center said that the numbers of donators have increased tremendously showing the sense of responsibility. Thousands of blood units have been sent to East Azarbaijan since the night of tragedy to make the situation stable enough not to face shortage of blood units.

Iranian famous celebrities also started a fund -raising rally for the quake-hit victims, Superstars of Iranian cinema went to Azadi cinema, one of the most famous cinemas in Tehran, to raise money. It is said that more than 1600000000 Rials (Equals to 80000$) were raised by Iranian celebrities during the first couple of days.

Irannian Olympic Medalists also visited the damaged villages, right after returning to Iran to help. Iran‟s Greco-Roman wrestlers, Hamid Sourian and Ghasem Rezaei dedicated their gold medals at London Olympics to the victims of the earthquakes. Ehsan Hadadi, Iranian discus thrower who won the country‟s first track -and

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field medal in the Olympic Games also presented his medal to the quake-hit people. Alireza Dabir former Iranian Olympic champion andHamid Surian raised more than 50000000000 Rials (Equals to 250000$) for the reconstruction of the damaged villages.

Many fundraising events have also been held inside and outside thecountry to raise money for the victims. Photo exhibitions were held to raise fund for the earthquake. Iranian musicians held fundraising concerts all over the country. Several theater shows were dedicated to the Azarbaijan earthquake. The fifth round of Iran‟s Premier League (IPL), was overshadowed by earthquake in East Azarbaijan. The organization of IPL games said all the ticket sale from this round was dedicated to the victims of the quake.

IFMSA –IRAN contacted the national coordinator of the volunteers and made a list of the volunteer students with special skills and trainings that were willing to go to quake-hit regions. President of IFMSA-IRAN with another member visited the area to have a more accurate estimation of the causalities and the assistance that the medical students were able to offer. As medical students we offer our very sincere condolences to all victims of the recent earthquake & their families.

We hope they could be well taken care of.

Also we hope that by thinking wise and taking long term actions and plans, there could be a better preparation for future quakes

and effective ways to diminish the number of deaths, injuries, devastations and economic damages.

“In countries where quakes are more probable, man-made shakes are used to examine the ground on which a building is going to be built, so this way the potential resistance of the ground against quakes would be measured, which will prevent further damages. However, this method is not possible in all villages and even cities due to socioeconomic issues.

Education is one of the most effective solutions to reduce quake damages. People should be thought how to face a quake, what to do during quakes as well as postquake necessary actions. According to statistics, most of the deaths and injuries take place during aftershocks. People should be taught to stay stationary for at least 20 minutes. How to rescue the injured and the trapped people without causing them further damages as well as first aid resuscitation are of great importance and should be considered as important educations. Schools should have emergency plans and facilities, including safety rooms and fire alarms.

Fortification of buildings is the next issue of interest. All buildings should be built earthquake resistant. Fast exits and emergency stair are obligatory. Height and number of houses and residents should be under control.

Functional health centers that can function during emergencies capable of providing primary needs of patients are much needed in these events. Means of fast and efficient transport is also of great importance.�

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Emergency medicine welfare needs necessity in EMR Nobody can deny that emergency medicine is one of the most critical specialties of advanced medicine except in East Mediterranean countries.

We still consider it as a piece of cake according to other specialties like medicine, pediatFekry El Bagory rics & others. Thus, it suffers IFMSA-Egypt from a high level of disappointment on various levels; starting from governmental support and ending with physicians' knowledge.

very important role that they must play.

Whether it should be achieved through donations or being well-oriented about the guidelines of disaster management & accident control.

Let's imagine that a man's life is depending on minutes of intensive care from wellequipped emergency room. It's worth thinking about how we can develop our abilities in our hospitals - especially governmental ones - to save thousands of human lives which gets lost every year mainly due to impairment in preparations of our emergency rooms.

To grantee a good level of this medical service it's mandatory to set follow-up systems for continuous control of emergency medicine departments in all health authorities.

I won't talk about the causes of this problem or spend words to describe its state. Iâ€&#x;ll however try to discuss some of suggested solutions that the world took in consideration & achieved high levels of success in life saving aspect & emergency control.

Governmental support Governments in East Mediterranean countries have to take their responsibilities in emergency medicine sector's development seriously. They should provide hospitals by the most needed equipment & tools besides ambulances preparations to meet accidentsâ€&#x; needs, in order to save lives & lower the medical costs of injured people.

Community sharing Also different sectors of community have

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Human resources The most important factor in emergency medicine development. It requires training, good preparations, sustainable education to keep them updated with the latest objectives in emergency medicine.

Follow-up

All of this can reconstruct strong emergency medicine division in our countries to low this incredible rate of lives' loss in our region.

Emergency Handled "Check it first, It's urgent"...a general rule used in our daily live every day. That whenever it comes to emergency, everything else should subside.

Part of the Doctors protest seeking Improvement of the health care system conditions in Egypt And what could be more emergent than people's Live or health as a general?!

Yet, within some of the EMR countries, emergency medicine is still stuck in the same chain of problems the whole health care system is stuck in; especially with the latest changes in those countries that shows an increased rate of “Emergency” situations as a whole.

Talking from a closer scope, In the Emergency Section within university hospitals in my country, we are still facing some problems regarding multiple issues like Shortage of facilities, which is a major problem in the entire country hospitals, where there is always in relativity between the number of patients and the available facilities. This “Irrelatively" proceeds to include the human resources; doctors and nurses.

Security on hospitals; and perhaps this is a problem to be highlighted, especially these days where hospitals started being under stressful aggression from patients' compan-

ions, putting a major psychological pressure on the health care team.

All of these problems definitely do interfere with the guarantee of delivering a pure and perfect health service; the fundamental thing that all the health care stuff swears upon. And so, it was the time to raise the" horn of the emergency" louder and to start the real act from all those who occupy a Dalia Abd El-Nasser Awad IFMSA-Egypt seat of responsibility within the health care system. That starting from putting a general protocol to be implemented in the entire hospitals to be taken as a " MUST TO DO" model to followed by all the health care stuff in all the hospitals, defining the track of the work strategy entitling the stuff, the facilities, and the security.

William James once said, “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” It's never too late to take an action, and perhaps sometimes it's better late than never because whenever there are intentions, hard work and convenient planning, there will be definitely...a change.

One that will make us always ready for any Emergency, far welling it with a note " Emergency,..Handled".

Doctors and how they always try to do their best in frames of the available facilities

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59th Session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean: The Experience of an Omani Following the mission to be the voice of medical students all around the world and being active in participating with leaders of the health sectors in the world and in all the regions, the International Federation Khalid Hasan Al Hamadani of Medical Students Sultan Qaboos University- A s s o c i a t i o n s Medical Student Group (IFMSA) participated (SQU-MSG) in the Fifty-ninth Session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean from the 1st till the 4th of October. I had the honor to be the only representative of IFMSA in such an important meeting. So who am I? I‟m Khalid Hasan Al Hamadani. An Omani medical student in Sultan Qaboos University.

In my 6th year of medical studies and I have been an IFMSA active person since my 1st year. I‟m currently the Training Director in Oman but I used to be the VPE once and I used to work in SCOPE. IFMSA and I have quite a love story, making me one of the many people who work hard to represent this amazing organization in the best way ever.

The meeting commenced on the 1st of October and for four days many topics important to the region were discussed and decisions were made for the best of the region. During the four days I gave two statements in two different topics, of course representing IFMSA in both.

The first statement was on the second day of the meeting and it was about the “Political Declaration of the United Nations General As-

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sembly on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases: commitments of member States and the way forward”. Representing IFMSA, I mentioned that noncommunicable disease crisis was about equity and efforts to control non-communicable diseases must be integrated with multi sectorial strategies to reduce the imbalance of social determinants of health. I also mentioned that traditional ways of health education were not effective anymore and suggested that youth and the community should be involved in the implementation of health plans and strategies such as those for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.

The second statement was on the third day of the meeting and it was about “WHO reform: current status and regional perspective”. I urged the regional committee members to make sure that social determinants of health be put as one of the main priorities of WHO work now and in the future. I also mentioned that defining designated competencies in the implementation of cross sectorial approach will prevent neglecting a comprehensive approach to social determinants of health as intended. Regarding the funding problem of WHO, I urged the member states to

individually examine their voluntary contributions and allow more flexibility to the secretar-

iat to address global priority areas and to commit to a sustainable core funding pledges.

Beside the meeting related work and under the request of the Regional Coordinator of the EMR at that time Miss Lujain AL Qodmani, I contacted the official delegations of some of the EMR countries that arenâ€&#x;t yet part of

IFMSA to let them know about IFMSA and the possibility of their countries medical institutions to join IFMSA and make IFMSA family bigger.

The meeting was very beneficial and I had the chance to meet many officials from the ministries of health from almost all the region, and learn from them. This included the minister of health of Oman and the accompanying delegation. In such a meeting you could see and compare what our country doing in terms of health compared to other countries in the region and internationally. I was amazed by the amount of achievements Oman have done and the plans that will be done to raise the quality of health in Oman. And Iâ€&#x;m sure that everyone who attends the meeting will feel the same. Finally, I do urge every medical student in the EMR region and in the world to grab the chance IFMSA offers to

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attend such meetings to represent medical students worldwide and get a very good educative and personal experience.

Note: You can find the full text of both interventions below:

Intervention (1): On the “Political Declaration of the United Nations General Assembly on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases: commitments of member States and the way forward”: Dear Chairman, Director-General, and Honourable Regional Committee As a representative of the International Federation of Medical Student Associations (IFMSA), I am speaking on behalf of 1.3 million young people and future health professionals. We applaud the efforts of memberstates in tackling the NCD crisis as it accounts for the largest cause of primarily preventable deaths of patients worldwide. However, I would like to take the opportunity to raise some areas of concern: 1. The NCD crisis is about equity.

Recalling that the NCDs disproportionately affect the poorest of society, we believe that the NCD crisis is one of equity, reminding us of WHO‟s Alma Ata commitment to Health For All. We disagree with the statements made at Rio+20 that the NCD crisis can be solved through healthy lifestyles. Rather, multi-sectorial strategies to reduce the imbalance of social determi-

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nants of health must be integrated with efforts to control NCDs as further social inequity will only exacerbate the crisis.

Secondly, Yesterday some points were raised by some member states about the importance of health promotion and education. I would also like to emphasize on this issue as it has a major role in solving the raising problem of NCD‟s in our region.

The usual method of using traditional ways of community education such as posters, leaflets, etc, in all of our health education programs are not effective anymore and other means to deliver our message to the community should be implemented. Thus to achieve that I suggest the following: 1) I n v o l v i n g the youth.

Young people in the EMR and worldwide are interested in improving the health statuses of their countries. Putting in mind that the youth of this region were the driving force of radical change in many of the countries in the region. It is important that we recognize that they are able to influence development in our region significantly including the prevention and control of NCD‟s. Student organizations like ourselves can be of major help, and we will be happy to collaborate with WHO. 2) Involving the community Communities in the EMR region and worldwide are the target for all health plans made by WHO or by the member states ministries of health , but they are seldom involved in implementing the plans. Health education and promotion should shift from “heath professional centered to community centered”. The communities by guidance of the health professionals should be given the initiative to hear their ideas and involve them in implementation of the health plans.

This will reduce the huge gap between health professionals and community, resulting in a more trust relationship that will have a huge impact on changing the culture and unhealthy habits of the community by the community itself.

This will also raise the pressure on non -health sectors that have immediate relation with the community health to implement the recommendations set

by WHO and member states.

I stand here representing medical students from more than one hundred countries young people who also suffer from NCDs. As the health professionals of tomorrow, we are committed to combating this major health challenge of our generation. We urge member states to equip WHO and implement its recommendations to remain at the forefront of efforts to resolve the NCD crisis.

Thank you.

Intervention (2): On the “WHO reform: current status and regional perspective”: Dear Chairman, Director General, honourable Regional Committee We as medical students worldwide passionately believe in the remarkable potential of the WHO to be the lead player in global health governance but have often been frustrated with the apparent bureaucracy, funding restrictions and spurious interests that seem to hinder the Organization.

That is why we gave a similar statement all over the WHO regional meetings this year to ensure that our voice regarding this issue

reaches every member state in all the regions. Thus we are grateful for this opportunity to address two key areas in which we would urge you to even greater action.

Firstly, putting Social Determinants of Health as one of the main priority areas of WHOs work, now and in the future.

We applaud the member states and WHO for acknowledging the wide reaching roots and causes of health inequity through all sectors.

We want to highlight that this approach, if poorly executed, accommodates potential pitfalls. The implementation of a cross-sectorial approach, without defining designated competencies, opens doors to easily banking or neglecting a comprehensive SDH approach as intended. Therefore, it is vital that member states see the need to put the Social Determinants of Health lens in the center of the WHO reform process.

Secondly, with regard to the funding issue, we of course support the separation of funding acquisition from priority setting. An Organization which derives over 70% of its funding from specified contributions cannot succeed in objectively setting its own agenda. Thus we call on the Eastern Mediterranean Member States to individually examine their own voluntary contributions and consider ways in which restrictions can be relaxed to allow the Secretariat greater flexibility in addressing global priority areas, and also to collectively resolve to commit to sustainable core funding pledges to reflect a renewed Member State confidence in a reformed WHO. In conclusion, as a voice of the future, we are passionate to see Health For All truly realized, and we are passionate about the potential for the WHO in achieving this. Let‟s make this commendable call for reform a true rediscovery of WHO‟s core principles – and please be bold, be creative and be cooperative as Member States and Secretariat in laying aside national and personal interests in working towards this noble goal.

Thank you.

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Why be an active IFMSAian?

6 months of continuous work from 23 medical students from Jordan resulted in EMR 8; a successful meeting for our region. I‟ve never thought that I would take part in organizing a huge meeting in this short time. Till now, a lot of people keep on asking me, what made you put yourself in this situation? Work? Emails?

Fuad Habash And registration? Don‟t IFMSA-Jo you have any exams?

It wasn‟t an easy decision be committing to the organizing committee and to promise them to do everything that is related to the delegates‟ registration. Yes, I had to reply to loads of emails, check the website, update lists and provide data for the rest of the team; which took much of my time. I didn‟t know how wonderful it feels just after the team succeeds in the project, until I have lived these moments.

Below, I am listing a couple of reasons and benefits of taking part in any kind of project, especially a meeting like this: 1) First of all, you enrich your experiences and you will be obliged to develop more skills in relation to the needs to keep up with the demands of the team work.

2) Working with people is mandatory. You can‟t work on your own and no one can work without you. Your presence is essential to the group and this would build the team spirit inside each one of us. Working through a team is important in our lives; it is indeed the cornerstone of our future careers.

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3) When it comes to business, it is business.

Nothing personal affects or shall affect you!

Getting the work done is your only aim.

4) In such an international meeting, you get to meet people from all over the world, knowing them better, learning and exchanging experiences. You wouldn‟t find anything similar unless you do join such meetings. They become your friends in less than no time, as if you have known them for ages.

5) This is the simplest way to increase your self-confidence and stamina. Your team will be giving you their trust and you will be feeling the responsibility within. Whenever you help in putting the project all together, you are getting more points into your own counter.

The more you do well, the more reinforcement, the more self-confidence and here it g o e s o n a n d o n .

6) You tend to discover more of yourself when you are under stress! Newton didn‟t discover the Law of Gravity until he got hit by an apple!

7) If you don‟t experience joining projects or working as a team to achieve a goal now, then when will you?

8) You learn how to manage time and how to respect it, because if you don‟t respect time, it wouldn‟t respect you.

To keep this short, I do believe that EMR8 has been an important milestone in my life and career. Got my vision widened, got satisfied in what I did and offered, not to forget how I managed to see myself work even when I was sleep deprived.

I do advice each one of you to try giving yourself a chance, whatever was the project, whoever was in the team. Have faith and trust in your own work and be open to people‟s advice and help. The satisfaction that you get will be the reason for another start ahead.

EMR International Team 2012-2013 EMR Official

Carl Joe [LeMSIC, Lebanon] RA SCOPE

Mona M. Faramawy

ra.scope.emr@gmail.com

[EMSS, U.A.E]

Maysah AlMulla

RC EMR

[IFMSA-BH, Bahrain]

rcemr@ifmsa.org

RA SCORE ra.score.emr@gmail.com

Development Assistants Pushpa Hossain

Mohamed Meshref

[IFMSA-Egypt]

[IFMSA-Egypt]

EMR DA for Publications

RA SCOME

da.publicatons.emr@gmail.com

ra.scome.emr@gmail.com

Joe Cherabie [LeMSIC, Lebanon] RA SCORA jncherabie@gmail.com

Ahmed Shehata

Nadir Al-Azri

[IFMSA-Egypt]

[SQU-MSG, Oman]

Fekry El-Bagory [IFMSA-Egypt]

Co –DAs for New Technologies

RA SCOPH ra.scoph.emr@gmail.com

Regional Assistants Mohamed Zarrami [ASSOCIA-MED, Tunisia] RA Projects da.projects.emr@gmail.com

Skander Zouari [ASSOCIA-MED, Tunisia] RA VPE emr.ra.vpe@gmail.com

Sana Saboui

Melika Hanifiha

[ASSOCIA-MED, Tunisia]

[IFMSA-Iran]

Co –RAs SCORP ra.scorp.emr@gmail.com

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