Blog post 27 01 1

First days of the IFMSA delegation to the 140th Executive Board Meeting of the World Health Organization

By Openy (Uganda) and Tom (Australia)

This January, over 193 Member States of the WHO, Non State Actors, Civil Society Organisations and many other Observers gathered to write history in the 140th WHO Executive Board Meeting. Among many other agenda points, the candidates for Director General where to be narrowed down to three applicants, with the final elections at the May World Health Assembly (WHA)! So, besides the usual activities of the WHO EB biannual meeting, the IFMSA delegation had plenty to do, as you might have been following live here on the ​live webcast​.

It all started with business as usual; building excitement and enthusiasm to represent IFMSA to the delegates of the world. Our group met in freezing cold Geneva, learning basic french language like OMS = WHO and discussing plans and dreams over fondue.

We developed a number of official statements on different agenda points that got approved for presentation in the EB meeting. So far, 2 statements (out of 9) have been presented, on the topics “​WHO ​response ​ in emergencies” and “human resources for health”. IFMSA has joined many affiliated organisations and associations in developing joint statements, e.g A joint statement on agenda point 8.1 by IFMSA and ​IPSF about ”​Human resources for health and implementation of the outcome of the United Nations High Level​ Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth” and a policy brief ​ on “​Meaningful Youth Participation and Fair Internships” together with members of the ​World Health Students` Alliance​.

The IFMSA delegation at the World Health Organisation in Geneva. (Left to right: Tom, AMSA-Australia; Amine, IFMSA LO WHO; Bhavi, MSAI-India; Marie, IFMSA VPE; Openy, FUMSA-Uganda; Laura, IFMSA-NL)

The delegation has been closely following the EB discussions, ranging from access to essential medicines to emergency response to WHO finances and many more. Some key themes have been on issues very close to our hearts, on intersectoral action for health, the social determinants of health and industry engagement. There have been so many interesting discussions that to write them all would be impossible, but two of our favourite quotes so far have been: from Canada ‘Every minister is a health minister’; and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, calling for success of our interventions to be measured by the impact in the field.

“​The success of our interventions must be measured by their impact in the field” Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The shortlisting of the candidates for Director-General of the WHO has also been interesting.

Unfortunately, most of these discussions go on behind closed doors and so our delegation has not been privy to the wheeling and dealing of international politics. However, we did manage to corner one candidate to discuss youth engagement with the WHO! Another key focus of our delegation has been building relationships with the people here, with the goals of facilitating internships, continuing existing collaborations, securing support for the upcoming Youth PreWHA, preparations of the NCD youth caucus and discovering new avenues for collaboration.

We have had meetings with many other organisations, including the World Organisation of Family Doctors, the Graduate Institute Geneva, the Alliance for Health Promotion and a variety of WHO departments. Keep a look out for future internship opportunities, speakers and new collaborations that will come out of these relationships!

The IFMSA delegation with the President and CEO of WONCA, two very impressive human beings, most so because they are so down to earth with a deep love and care for their patients. WONCA is the World Organisation of Family Doctors and their key advocacy work is around promoting primary and horizontal healthcare, very much in line with our work.

It has also been interesting to see the similarities between the EB meetings and some of our own General Assemblies (GAs). Within the first half day, the chair of the EB had threatened to switch off the microphones of people who didn’t stick to the time-limit, told Member States to cut down their statement length and had a lengthy, 1 hour debate about voting procedures. It’s nice to see that these issues are not specific to IFMSA!

#JustLikeaGA

Marie, our fabulous VPE delivered a presentation on the IFMSA, our key advocacy projects and youth engagement in general. She was joined by the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation; the Afro-European Medical and Research Network; and the Uganda Youth and Adolescent Health Forum.

The resulting discussion was enlightening and inspiring, as we discussed barriers and solutions to meaningful youth participation and youth empowerment. A key outcome of this was the strengthening of the relationships between these groups and initial discussions about collaboration for the World Health Assembly on our advocacy goals.

One of the things we always aim for during WHO meetings is engaging with our national delegations and advocating for more meaningful youth participation at the national level. Tom, our Australian delegate, along with two Australian interns and an Australian from the Junior Doctors Network had a chat with the head of the Australian delegation at the WHO EB. They had many interesting discussions about national affairs and strategy, however, the most concrete outcome was the promise of a new internship spot in the Australian Department of Health - International Strategy Division! One step closer to a youth delegate for Australia.

The EB also acknowledged the passing of Dr Halfdan Mahler, a key player in Global Health and strong supporter of the IFMSA. He will be sorely missed.

Overall, the first few days have been enlightening, inspiring and fruitful. We have developed many opportunities for our students, progressed our advocacy goals and had a great time along the way.

More updates will be coming soon!