European Parliament Elections Initiative

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS INITIATIVE WHAT CAN YOU GET OUT OF THIS? We represent 1.3 million Medical Students worldwide and we are the Future of Health Care Professionals in our Region. All our members are passionate about healthcare and their votes will highly depend on the candidates’ plans in that area. In the next few pages, we seek to highlight the topics that are most important for the medical students of the European Region and to promote discussion around them between the candidates to our common parliament. We are the future of Europe’s healthcare, let us present you, our ideas for a healthier tomorrow!

WHO ARE WE? The International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), founded in 1951, is one of the world’s oldest and largest student-run organizations with partners such as the WHO, the UN, the WMA and UNIAIDS. It represents, connects and engages every day with medical students from 133 NMOs in 123 countries around the globe.

Our work is divided into four main global health areas: Public Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Medical Education and Human Rights and Peace. Each year, we organize over 13,000 clinical and research exchanges programs for our students to explore innovations in medicine, healthcare systems and healthcare delivery in other settings. IFMSA brings people together to exchange, discuss and initiate projects to create a healthier world. We train our members to give them the skills and resources needed to be health care leaders. We advocate for the pressing issues that matter to us to shape the world we want. And it does deliver: our projects, our campaigns and our activities positively impact the physicians-to be, the communities they serve, as well as the health systems around the world in which they practice as a trainee and eventually a medical doctor.

WHAT DO WE STAND FOR??

Global health is a growing field, with endless topics and opportunities for IFMSA. In order to assure the biggest possible impact of our efforts, we selected a group of global priorities and regional priority to focus our work on.

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Global Priorities: a group of focus areas and overarching concepts that guides the internal and external work of IFMSA worldwide;

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Regional Priorities: a group of subjects that focus the work developed by each region and respective NMOs, in order to tackle in a more specific approach the challenges they face.

WHAT DO WE WANT WITH THIS DOCUMENT? Our goal is for candidates to share their opinion on the topics ahead and for them to:

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Raise awareness on the importance of developing strategies that tackle the antimicrobial resistance problem, promoting the EU Guidelines on the prudent use of antimicrobials in human and animal health;

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Address the issue of mental health, promoting de-stigmatization, improving access for people with or at’ risk of mental disorders and to highlight the importance of developing a mental health policy or to include mental health within broader health policies and strategies;

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Inline with WHO European vaccine action plan, develop and implement national vaccination plans aimed to increase vaccination coverage and to strengthen the cooperation on vaccine-preventable diseases with other EU countries;

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Include Youth, as one of the biggest demographics on Earth, as important players in the discussion of the future of the world, collaborating and reaching out in order for them to participate effectively in the decision-making process;

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Assess the level of access to health care services in the European Region and develop intersectoral initiatives that address Universal Health Coverage, working towards ensuring health for all;

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Promote the principles of Global Health Education of preventing illness, reducing health inequities, improving access to healthcare and develop initiatives that raise awareness of health inequities and the social determinants of health;

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Tackle Climate Change and Environment as an inextricable link to communities’ health, promoting initiatives that tackle this issue as a threat to global health and that match the conclusion and agreements of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, held in Paris;

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Promote discussion on Refugees' and Migrants' Health and Rights, inline with the WHO Constitution of 1948 that states that “everyone has the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, providing access to health services regardless of their legal status, will be treated with dignity, respect and without any form of discrimination;

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Develop initiatives that tackle the growing proportion of the global burden of Noncommunicable Diseases, preventing premature deaths from NCDs by creating strategies that address the

four main risk factors, physical inactivity, unhealthy

diets, tobacco use and harmful use of alcohol, which are interrelated and rooted in social, political, economic, cultural and environmental factors.

IFMSA’S EUROPEAN REGIONAL PRIORITIES [Antimicrobial resistance] Excessive and inappropriate use of antimicrobials in combination with poor infection control mechanisms transformed AMR into one of the gravest threats to public health.

Currently, antimicrobial resistance costs a large number of lives and brings a huge economic burden on European countries. Predictions for 2050 are not the brightest and we as current medical students will be in the workforce at that time, that is why IFMSA committed to fight against AMR and make the voice of future generations heard. We need to control its emergence and spread in order to protect public health. Therefore, we commit to improve professional education and work towards multi-sectoral solutions to decrease AMR rates in Europe.

[Mental Health] According to the most recent available data (2016), mental disorders rank as the first cause of years lived with disability (YLD) in Europe. Over 38% of all European citizens suffer from a mental disorder (estimated 164.7 million people). However, social stigma and discrimination make it often harder for people with mental health issues to recover.

IFMSA Europe hereby affirms the necessity to reduce the burden of mental disorders and to improve equitable access to mental healthcare following the values of the European Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020. We also want to highlight that everyone has the same right to be enabled to reach the highest level of mental health and to be offered support proportional to their needs and that any form of neglect, prejudice of discrimination hindering equitable access should be tackled.

[Vaccination] Vaccination is one of the greatest successes of medicine, one of the most powerful, costeffective public health measures ever developed. Although they are saving millions of people from illness, disability and death, vaccination programmes have become fragile

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and coverage is lowering due to vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and lack of sciencebased information and health literacy. This is leading us to more and more outbreaks and may bring back already eradicated diseases such as polio. At IFMSA we think dying of vaccine-preventable disease is unacceptable. That's why we consider that an effort must be made in order to develop and implement national vaccination plans aimed to increase vaccination coverage inline with WHO European vaccine action plan, to strengthen the cooperation on vaccine-preventable diseases within all EU countries,

to join initiatives

that aim to tackle vaccine hesitancy and to provide easy to understand, transparent and objective information about vaccination.

IFMSA’S GLOBAL PRIORITIES: OVERARCHING CONCEPTS [Meaningful Youth Participation] Youth (aged 15-24) is undoubtedly an important agent of positive change in the world.

Through active participation, youth are empowered to play a vital role in their own development as well as in that of their communities. However, worldwide, youth faces multiple challenges in terms of access to equal opportunities and involvement in decision-making processes which affect their lives and future.

IFMSA as a youth-led and youth-driven organization is committed to uphold meaningful youth participation as a key issue to be addressed in world affairs. Action needs to be taken to support youth and tackle the challenges that limit their active and meaningful participation at all levels and policies and programs which invest in youth and promote their empowerment and meaningful participation are of great significance.

[Universal Health Coverage] One of the major causes of poor health, premature mortality and health inequity is a lack of access to essential health services. The latest UHC monitoring report shows that over half of the world's’ population does not have access to the essential health-service they need. Adequate healthcare infrastructure, goods, and services must be available in all geographical areas and to all communities and healthcare must be provided without discrimination.. Strengthening primary care services can be a cornerstone in achieving UHC. IFMSA and students worldwide considers UHC as a priority and the EU can be the fuel that ignites other organizations and countries to come together so that we can provide the world's population with a strong and capable health workforce.

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[Global Health Education] Global health is an area of study, research, and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide. As medical students, we need to realize that our ability to become competent and compassionate physicians is rooted in how we understand our patients’ needs and causes of illness. Our responsibilities as future doctors and health leaders should not be limited to curing illness but also include promoting health, preventing illness, reducing health inequities and improving access to healthcare. Medical schools have increasingly integrated global health education in their curricula in the last decades, however, there continues to be a lack of focus on global health in many curricula. IFMSA believes that learning about health inequities and the social determinants of health should be more engaging and accessible, and recognizes the importance of global health educational experiences for the growth and professional development of future physicians.

IFMSA’S GLOBAL PRIORITIES [Environment, Climate Change and Health] Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 000 additional deaths per year. Climate change is named by the Lancet as the biggest threat to global health and it is all of our responsibility to turn it into the greatest opportunity.

Current students worldwide will be the generation facing the consequences of the decisions taken today and the policies that are being implemented. In the UN Climate Change Conference Paris in 2015 the world came together to express a new vision of ambition to take action, however current goals are still far out of line with the envisioned targets. There has been a growing interest federation-wide to address the issue and we need to ensure that we utilize efforts in playing an active role and leaving an impact in the worldwide momentum for climate change and health.

[Refugees’ and Migrants’ Health and Rights] There are an estimated 1 billion migrants in the world today. Approximately 250 million people are international migrants and 763 million internal migrants. The WHO Constitution of 1948 states that everyone has the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Several international human rights documents protect the rights of migrants and refugees, including their right to health, however, refugees and migrants very often lack access to health services. In IFMSA we have been calling for initiatives that advocate for the respect for the rules of war, that strengthen

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the protection of migrants and refugees and that ensure that people on the move, regardless of their legal status, will be treated with dignity, respect, without any form of discrimination and that their access to social and health services are ensured.

[Non-Communicable Diseases] Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) represent the largest and growing proportion of the global burden of disease, accountable for 70% of deaths worldwide, largely happening in low- and middle-income countries. Premature deaths from NCDs are mostly preventable, and many are driven by four main risk factors; physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, tobacco use and harmful use of alcohol, which are interrelated and rooted in social, political, economic, cultural, environmental and commercial factors, often outside of an individual's control. While cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, and chronic lung diseases are regarded as the four main NCDs, mental, neurological and substance use disorders are the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting all regions and all age groups. Therefore, IFMSA urges countries and the EU to take action on this matter and asks for a holistic, life-course approach so that we can improve our communities’ health.

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IFMSA

International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations

Algeria (Le Souk)

Dominican Republic (ODEM)

Lebanon (LeMSIC) Libya (LMSA)

Senegal (FNESS)

Ecuador (AEMPPI)

Lithuania (LiMSA)

Serbia (IFMSA-Serbia)

Egypt (IFMSA-Egypt)

Luxembourg (ALEM)

Sierra Leone (SLEMSA)

Malawi (UMMSA)

Singapore (SiMSA)

Aruba (IFMSA-Aruba)

El Salvador (IFMSA-El Salvador)

Malaysia (SMMAMS)

Slovakia (SloMSA)

Australia (AMSA)

Estonia (EstMSA)

Mali (APS)

Slovenia (SloMSIC)

Austria (AMSA)

Ethiopia (EMSA)

Malta (MMSA)

South Africa (SAMSA)

Azerbaijan (AzerMDS)

Finland (FiMSIC)

Mexico (AMMEF-Mexico)

Spain (IFMSA-Spain)

Bangladesh (BMSS)

France (ANEMF)

Montenegro (MoMSIC)

Sudan (MedSIN)

Belgium (BeMSA)

Georgia (GMSA)

Sweden (IFMSA-Sweden)

Bolivia (IFMSA-Bolivia)

Germany (bvmd)

Morocco (IFMSAMorocco)

Bosnia & Herzegovina (BoHeMSA)

Ghana (FGMSA)

Nepal (NMSS)

Greece (HelMSIC)

The Netherlands

Syrian Arab Republic (SMSA)

Grenada (IFMSAGrenada)

(IFMSA NL)

Taiwan - China (FMS)

Nigeria (NiMSA)

Tajikistan (TJMSA)

Norway (NMSA)

Thailand (IFMSAThailand)

Argentina (IFMSAArgentina) Armenia (AMSP)

Bosnia & Herzegovina – Republic of Srpska (SaMSIC) Brazil (DENEM)

Guatemala (IFMSAGuatemala)

Brazil (IFMSA-Brazil)

Guinea (AEM)

Bulgaria (AMSB)

Guyana (GuMSA)

Burkina Faso (AEM)

Haiti (AHEM)

Burundi (ABEM) Cameroon (CAMSA)

Honduras (IFMSAHonduras)

Canada (CFMS)

Oman (MedSCo)

Switzerland (swimsa)

Pakistan (IFMSAPakistan)

Tanzania (TaMSA)

Panama (IFMSAPanama)

Trinidad and Tobago (TTMSA)

Paraguay (IFMSAParaguay)

Tunisia (Associa-Med)

Hungary (HuMSIRC)

Canada – Québec (IFMSA-Québec)

Iceland (IMSA)

Peru (IFMSA-Peru)

India (MSAI)

Peru (APEMH)

Turkey – Northern Cyprus (MSANC)

Catalonia - Spain (AECS)

Indonesia (CIMSA-ISMKI) Iran (IMSA)

Philippines (AMSAPhilippines)

Uganda (FUMSA)

Chile (IFMSA-Chile) China (IFMSA-China)

Iraq (IFMSA-Iraq)

Poland (IFMSA-Poland)

China – Hong Kong (AMSAHK)

Iraq – Kurdistan (IFMSAKurdistan)

Portugal (ANEM)

United Arab Emirates (EMSS)

Colombia (ASCEMCOL)

Ireland (AMSI)

Costa Rica (ACEM)

Israel (FIMS)

Republic of Moldova (ASRM)

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (SfGH)

Croatia (CroMSIC)

Italy (SISM)

Cyprus (CyMSA)

Jamaica (JAMSA)

Republic of North Macedonia (MMSA)

United States of America (AMSA-USA)

Czech Republic (IFMSACZ)

Japan (IFMSA-Japan)

Romania (FASMR)

Jordan (IFMSA-Jo)

Democratic Republic of the Congo (MSA-DRC)

Kazakhstan (KazMSA)

Russian Federation (HCCM)

Uruguay (IFMSAUruguay)

Denmark (IMCC)

Korea (KMSA)

Dominica (IFMSA Commonwealth of Dominica)

Kosovo - Serbia (KOMS)

Kenya (MSAKE)

Kuwait (KuMSA) Latvia (LaMSA)

Qatar (QMSA)

Togo (AEMP)

Turkey (TurkMSIC)

Ukraine (UMSA)

Uzbekistan (Phenomenon)

Russian Federation – Republic of Tatarstan (TaMSA)

Venezuela (FEVESOCEM)

Rwanda (MEDSAR)

Zambia (ZaMSA)

Saint Lucia (IFMSA-Saint Lucia)

Zimbabwe (ZIMSA)

www.ifmsa.org

Yemen (NAMS)

medical students worldwide