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Introduction
from the SCOPH Director Jozo Schmuch Director on Public Health scophd@ifmsa.org
Dearest SCOPHeroes, In the year behind us we witnessed many transitions that will define the health of the population of the future. Of course the main one being the transition from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 17 goals set by the member states of UN which aim to improve many areas of human activity - health being one of them. 2015 was a year of a great successes in the field of Public Health. The WHO proclaimed the Rubella has been eradicated from the Americas Region, reaffirming the importance of vaccination as one of the most effective public health measures in human history. Moreover, with the 2015 being year of expiration of the MDGs we could see how the world succeed in reaching the targets set by the MDGs - for example - a reduction of 40 per cent in cases of undernutrition among children with WHO regional offices of the Americas, Europe and the Western Pacific region registering declines that even exceed the set target. However, MDGs expiration also showed us the areas that need improvement especially in those goals that weren’t met. So, while we witnessed great improvement in curbing the spread of HIV, other infectious diseases, mainly tuberculosis and malaria still plague many low to middle income countries. In SCOPH as well we had great deal of changes, challenges and achievements. We already had
great SCOPH sessions at three Regional Meetings, we successfully published couple of SCOPH newsletters, we held our first SCOPH Update Webinar and NCDs webinar, we started implementing SCOPH networking and much more - proving that our Standing Committee is vital and full of ideas. We participated in many external events, the most important one definitely being COP21 in Paris where IFMSA advocated for larger inclusion of health in this important conference. Moreover, we successfully started enrollment in the NCDs and Healthy lifestyle program and started or completed the baseline assessment for other SCOPH related programs. The articles you are about to read were chosen carefully to reflect the whole range of different activities our member do around the world. I would like to thank every single person that submitted the article for the SCOPH section of the MSI. You truly do represent the spirit of SCOPH where we rely on all of our members sharing their experiences with others to create a worldwide culture experience exchange. I hope that you will find them interesting and educating and that they will foster in you new ideas and opportunities for collaborations Always yours, In the name of the SCOPH IT Jozo Schmuch
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medical students worldwide | MM 2016, Malta