Today was family planning day at the DTM course. Two speakers spent the morning making the case for the need for family planning in the developing world. No argument really. Yes, there is a need. One of the difficulties in speaking about the needs in poverty stricken areas of the world is not so much making the case that the need exists but how you go about making the case. Because the intent should extend beyond educating people to inspiring them to act on the presented need. Our speakers today failed. I have shared the success' of other speakers.
There is a role that individuals play in the creation of the current world situation. It is an art to communicate this role with the appropriate degree of discomfort and personal ownership absent strident blame-mongering. There needs to be some discomfort mixed with inspiration to alter behavior and encourage positive action. Once the data of inequality is presented is the truth of inequity understood? What do we do once we are convinced of the inequity? Hopefully we find little disagreement that we should strive for equity in the world.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Inspiration
August Stitch spoke to our class on Friday February 1st.
A German physician who has worked with Medecins San Frontieres(MSF), he described some of his experiences since graduating from the Diploma Course in Tropical Medicine(DTM).
He combined scientific expertise about schistosomiasis(a common tropical, water-born, parasitic disease afflicting primarily the rural poor in Africa, Asia and parts of South America) with a captivating story of his venture into the Khmer Rouge dominated area of Cambodia to establish a hospital. This followed a time he had spent working with a Trypanosomiasis(tse tse fly carried parasitic disease in Africa) project in central Africa. His multi-media presentation was well organized and masterfully presented. He shared his frustrations with big pharma as some of the few drugs for trypanasomiasis were discontinued from production in the early 2000s for financial reasons until one of the drugs was included in some cosmetic creams for facial hair reduction and deals were struck with these companies, the World Health Organization(WHO) and MSF. He admitted his mistakes in attempting to tackle HIV with the same tactics used in the schistosomiasis effort.
Friday was a day that met my lofty expectations of the DTM.
In medicine and in life, we are inspired by mentors(or heroes, though these individuals might object to this descriptor). Friday I was inspired.
A German physician who has worked with Medecins San Frontieres(MSF), he described some of his experiences since graduating from the Diploma Course in Tropical Medicine(DTM).
He combined scientific expertise about schistosomiasis(a common tropical, water-born, parasitic disease afflicting primarily the rural poor in Africa, Asia and parts of South America) with a captivating story of his venture into the Khmer Rouge dominated area of Cambodia to establish a hospital. This followed a time he had spent working with a Trypanosomiasis(tse tse fly carried parasitic disease in Africa) project in central Africa. His multi-media presentation was well organized and masterfully presented. He shared his frustrations with big pharma as some of the few drugs for trypanasomiasis were discontinued from production in the early 2000s for financial reasons until one of the drugs was included in some cosmetic creams for facial hair reduction and deals were struck with these companies, the World Health Organization(WHO) and MSF. He admitted his mistakes in attempting to tackle HIV with the same tactics used in the schistosomiasis effort.
Friday was a day that met my lofty expectations of the DTM.
In medicine and in life, we are inspired by mentors(or heroes, though these individuals might object to this descriptor). Friday I was inspired.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)