Medical Students Aid Project
*Embargoed until 12 noon Sunday 8 December, 2002
A brief first hand encounter of hospital life in Malawi inspired two Australian medical students to get involved in overseas aid.
In the current issue of the Medical Journal of Australia, Angus G Ritchie and colleagues from the University of New South Wales' Medical Students' Aid Project (MSAP) look at the experiences that motivated the birth of Australia's first non-profit, student-run, volunteer organisation.
"Two UNSW medical students spent an elective term in the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, a town in the landlocked African country, Malawi", said Angus Ritchie, co-author of the article.
"They found themselves in a health system that was seriously hampered by a shortage of medical resources and when they got back to Australia they decided to give something back to the people who had taught and welcomed them so generously. And so began the Medical Students Aid Program.
"So far, aid has been delivered to partner hospitals in Malawi, Samoa, Tonga, India, Ghana, the Solomon Islands and Bolivia.
"We try to make sure that all aid is appropriate and beneficial to our partner hospitals by delivering items specifically requested by individual hospitals.
"MSAP student volunteers visit partner hospitals each year as part of their final year elective term.
"Forming long-term, sustainable partnerships with the partner hospitals enhances MSAP's effectiveness. Donating to the same hospitals each year ensures that lessons learned from previous years can be used to better meet our goals in the future.
"Partner hospitals have a need for aid that can be met by MSAP. They provide valuable experience of medical practice in the developing world and they are in locations that will continue to attract medical students in the future.
MSAP is entirely student administered and receives generous support from the UNSW Faculty of Medicine and the UNSW Foundation. All MSAP members volunteer their time and the university covers administration costs.
MSAP buys subsidised and in-date medication through Overseas Pharmaceutical Aid for Life (OPAL), a South Australian company that provides pharmaceutical supplies to developing countries in accordance with WHO guidelines for Drug Donations.
"In two years MSAP has delivered over $100,000 worth of medical aid."
The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.
CONTACT: Angus G Ritchie a.ritchie@student.unsw.edu.au (email only)
Judith Tokley (AMA) 0408 824 306