The Standing Committee on Public Health (SCOPH)

History of the

Committee

Medical students of the IFMSA formed the Standing Committee on Students’ Health (SCOSH) in 1952, driven by a strong will to take an active part in preventing and making policies concerning health problems. During the following years, the wide variety of activities led to the change of SCOSH to the Standing Committee on Health (SCOH) in 1963. In 1983 the name of the Committee changed once more to the Standing Committee on Public Health (SCOPH).

Vision

Medical Students attain the optimal skills and knowledge to contribute to their full potential toward the making of healthier communities in their capacity as medical students and as future healthcare Providers.

Mission

The Standing Committee on Public Health promotes the development of medical students worldwide regarding Public Health issues through an international sharing knowledge network, project management, community-based learning, capacity building, advocacy, exchange placements, and access to external learning opportunities.

Objectives

○ Disease prevention within our society.

○ Health promotion and education within our society.

○ Raising awareness about global public health issues among medical students and our society.

○ Advocating for health policies as the voice of worldwide medical students.

○ Developing skills and knowledge of medical students as future health professionals.

○ Working as an international team and collaborating with external public health organizations to use the potential of over one million worldwide medical students.

○ Collaborate with other fields such as medical education, human rights, and reproductive health.

Focus Areas

Bridging gaps in Health (BGH)

The face of this world is ever-changing and as the world changes, so does Public Health and the way we, as medical students and future healthcare professionals, try to influence it. With each passing year, new challenges emerge and call for creative and innovative solutions, so one has to be equipped with the knowledge, understanding, and skills required to carry out important public health work.
It is our responsibility to bring the issues we face in Public Health to our fellow medical students and equip them with the right tools to tackle them.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs)

Non-communicable diseases are diseases that are not transmissible from person to person. They are the leading cause of death in almost every region of the world, so it can be considered a global danger that can threaten people from all age groups specifically those who don’t know how to avoid it or protect themselves from it, so our role is promoting and monitoring global action against NCDs by providing people with knowledge that may help them avoiding these diseases or controlling them.
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) kill 41 million people each year, equivalent to 71% of all global deaths.

Projects

Mental Health

This project serves the mission and vision of The Standing Committee on Public Health worldwide and in Egypt. It has been in the spotlight for a while and several LCs are taking it into consideration. This project aims to work on raising awareness about the nature of mental disorders and their causes, and explaining that they are like any other disease so we shouldn’t Stigmatize the person with the mental disease in addition to stress and burnout and their management which serves the goals of IFMSA-Egypt

Climate Change

Climate Change is a global priority and that is why the United Nations established, in 2015, SDG 13 for this topic. Unfortunately, we have to say Climate Change is still seen under the shoulder as if it is not a big issue. The scientific studies, however, confirm it is an extremely important matter. We have the responsibility to raise our voices about the health effects of these environmental issues, making strategies and involving ourselves to make the world a better place. SCOPH, as the Public Health committee, must take action, and one of those, in IFMSA, is to be involved in activities, starting small, locally, in order to make a bigger change, globally.

Committee Officer

Salma Magdy

LPO 23/24

Highlights

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