WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTE
REGIONAL OFFICE FOR THE WESTERN PACIFIC BUREAU REGIONAL DU PACIFIQUE OCCIDENTAL
REGIONAL COMMITTEE Sixtieth session Manila, Philippines 21-25 September 2009
WPR/RC60ING0I11 23 September 2009 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
Agenda item 12
STATEMENT BY THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF MEDICAL STUDENTS' ASSOCIATIONS (IFMSA) By Mr Jen-Hsiang Shen IFMSA Regional Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific
On behalf of the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations, We extend best wishes and kind greetings to the 60 th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific. In its 58 th year, the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations represents over 1.2 million medical students from 89 countries across the globe. IFMSA is continuing its mission to build better skilled and sensitized future physicians by posinig as an international platform, which supports exchange of best practices,joining efforts and reinforces collaboration. We, medical students, strongly believe that tobacco control, particularly in the Western Pacific Region, should be a high priority. We encourage medical students and students in affiliated health professions to actively contribute towards the establishment of an effective Regional Action Plan for the Tobacco Free Initiative. We should not forget that the tobacco use of young people in our region is dramatically increasing. We as both medical students and young people feel responsible for promotion of a life without tobacco. We recognize the importance of ensuring high quality education for medical students as a way to strengthen the future workforce and improve general health. Preventive health care should be an essential and integral part of all national health systems. We believe that empowering medical students and other students affiliated health professions will help target the vulnerable and the most at risk populations of young people in tobacco control. Unfortunately, this cannot be achieved under the existing medical curricula of many countries. We strongly support the development of training modules for countries to enable stakeholders to provide brief cessation advice in primary health care services, as recommended by the Regional Action Plan for the TFI in the Western Pacific. We also advocate for a tighter regulation over the advertisement and promotion of tobacco brands and products on the internet, for example those present in the social utilities network such as Facebook.
WPRlRC60INGOlli page 2 We have launched a Tobacco Initiative Project through which IFMSA members coordinate their activities and build capacity globally. IFMSA also helps facilitate outreach progranmles in local communities. This allowed medical students to learn about the social determinants of health and the importance of preventive care, such as tobacco control, which is often underrepresented in medical curricula. IFMSA has actively taken part in the Meeting on nongovernmental organizations to the Conference of the parties to WHO-FCTC in Geneva, Switzerland and recently in the Working Group on Article 14 of the FCTC in Seoul, Republic of Korea. We plan to focus on region-specific problems at the upcoming IFMSA General Assemblies. We strongly support the finalization, signing and implementation of the Regional Action Plan for the Tobacco Free Initiative. We believe this is an instrument of great importance in obtaining results from the efforts of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. We kindly ask you, Honourable Ministers of Health and official dignitaries to assist us in our efforts and actively include us in this process. On behalf of the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations, thank you very much for your kind attention and support.