My first Magazine project proposal (with format) | Page 4

“ It is with great enthusiasm that I would like to introduce the 7th intensive hands-on seminar in Tropical and Travel Medicine organised by the MSc “Global Health - Disaster Medicine” of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Ifakara, Tanzania. The MSc programme “Global Health - Disaster Medicine” has as its main scope to educate members of the scientific community in forms of medical practice that transcend country borders and understand the world as a community. By including topics such as poverty, malnutrition and global epidemics in its curriculum, it is the only institution in Greece that systematically educates healthcare and non-healthcare professionals in Global Health. The acquisition of experiential knowledge is an important pillar in the programme’s mission and every educational intervention is structured in this frame. For more than 10 years, since the beginning of the MSc programme, the intensive hands-on seminar in Tropical and Travel Medicine has been motivating students to active search for knowledge in countries of the non-industrialised world like Tanzania and Ethiopia. Participants are provided with the opportunity to live in a remote community, to get acquainted with its special cultural traits and to test their medical knowledge by providing services in the local healthcare facilities. Being an unforgettable educational experience about the reality of life itself, it is no surprise that the seminar gathers the most enthusiastic evaluations with the passing of the years. This year’s seminar is the seventh in a row of successful efforts throughout all these years. It will take place in Ifakara, Tanzania in close cooperation with the Tanzanian Training Centre for International Health (TTCIH). With a very heterogenous landscape in its territory, Tanzania presents a particular epidemiological interest and participants will implement theoretical knowledge by studying in close distance the great epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, as well as the so-called “neglected diseases”. In parallel, carefully planned community visits offer the needed anthropological stimuli and enable them to experience the impact of disease to the local community. Definitely a lifetime experience, the intensive hands-on seminar in Tropical and Travel Medicine is a fertile soil for research in global health and, at the same time, it enhances the idea of developing healthcare professionals that offer their service in low resources surroundings. The successful organisation of the seminar during the previous years has created a valuable heritage that will be further developed this year by maintaining its quality and character. Implementing an effective strategy to raise awareness in the scientific community about the effort and assuring high quality in the academic programme are going to be priorities in this year’s seminar. Of course, the safety of our participants remains top priority and a great effort will be made to ensure that no unpredicted events occur during the seminar. I gladly invite you to embark with us on this extraordinary journey to sub-saharan Africa and let us offer you an unprecedented experience.” Emmanouil Pikoulis, MD, PhD, DMCC, FACS, FEBS Professor & Chairman of the 3rd Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Attikon” University General Hospital Professor of Surgery (Adj), USUHS, Bethesda, Maryland, USA Director of MSc “Global Health – Disaster Medicine” School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Tel. [phone] & [phone] E-Mail: [email protected] 4