The International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), founded in 1951, is one of the worlds oldest and largest student-run organizations. It represents, connects and engages every day with medical students from 124 national members organizations in 116 countries around the globe.
Our work is divided in four main global health areas: public health, sexual and reproductive health, medical education, human rights and peace. Each year, we organize over 13,000 clinical and research exchanges programs for our students to explore innovations in medicine, healthcare systems and healthcare delivery in other settings. IFMSA brings people together to exchange, discuss and initiate projects to create a healthier world. It trains its members to give them the skills and resources needed to be health leaders. It advocates for the pressing issues that matter to us to shape the world we want. And it does deliver: our projects, our campaigns and our activities positively impact the physicians-to be, the communities they serve, as well as the health systems around the world in which they practice as a trainee and eventually a medical doctor.
For over 60 years, IFMSA has been run for and by medical students on a voluntary basis. IFMSA envisions a world in which all medical students unite for global health and are equipped with the resources, skills and knowledge to take on health leadership roles locally and globally, so that we can shape the healthy and sustainable future we want. Numerous projects, campaigns, conferences and workshops are organized across member countries in the field of public health, sexual and reproductive health, medical education, and human rights and peace. The Federation also runs over 13,000 clinical and research exchanges annually for the students to explore innovations in medicine and healthcare systems and delivery in other settings. IFMSA is currently building up its programs, which will reflect the work of the Federation in various fields of global health. Programs are specifically designed to connect students and to offer them the possibility to organize and run several activities under a common theme.
The IFMSA experience shows students that they are not merely passive subjects in a rapidly globalizing world, but rather valuable individuals with a potentially powerful role to play in global health. IFMSA hence offers medical students a taste of the real and pressing health issues worldwide, and help them learn that their idealistic goals can be achieved with readily attainable knowledge and commitment.
In IFMSA, the emphasis is placed on students returning to their local environments with new ideas and the skills to implement them. As the doctors of tomorrow and future leaders of health, we feel confident that our students will carry this spirit with them throughout their professional lives so that they positively impact the communities they serve.
