Medsin National Conference: Power & Politics in Global Health

We have been elected by universities across the country to host the next Medsin National Conference on 25th - 26th October 2008 with the theme of "Power and Politics in Global Health". This conference is being run in partnership with the International Institute for for Society and Health, the Institute for Global Health, and University College London. The Lancet will also be producing a special student edition for the conference.

The theme of the conference is 'Power & Politics in Global Health', and our aim is to produce an overview and an analysis of how various actors and issues influence the formation of global health policy and the determinants of health at a social level.

University College London will be hosting the next Medsin National Conference on 25th - 26th October 2008 with the theme of "Power and Politics in Global Health".

This conference is being run in partnership with the support of the the Institute for Global Health, and University College London.

The theme of the conference is 'Power & Politics in Global Health', and our aim is to produce an overview and an analysis of how various actors and issues influence the formation of global health policy and the determinants of health at a social level.

We have divided the conference into four plenary sessions: 'Politics', 'Economics', 'Society' and 'Status, Inequality & Class'. The question of exploring power beyond formal politics and economics or the use of overt force, to ask how we are influenced by the people around us and who makes controlling decisions in society is one of the over-arching questions of the conference, emphasising our desire to gain a deeper understanding of how power is expressed through political systems, gradients of wealth, status and other axes of power.

Confirmed speakers at the conference include Martin Wolf (Editor of the FInancial Times and author of "Why Globalization Works"), Dr Richard Horton (Editor of the Lancet), Professor Nancy Scheper-Hughes, Professor Jonathan Woolf (UCL), Elizabeth Pisani (author of "the Wisdom of Whores"), Prof Maureen Mackintosh (Professor in Economics, Open University) and Professor Richard Wilkinson (Professor of Epidemiology and author of "Dysfunctional Societies: Why Inequality Matters to Health") among many others.

Furthermore, at the conference we will be holding a careers fair on 26th October. There will be students of various disciplines looking for internship and elective opportunities.

Medsin is the leading global health organisation for students in the UK, aimed at fostering critical debate and educating students, from all disciplines, about health inequities and humanitarian issues. There are branches in every UK medical school. We empower students through our student-led projects, campaigns and advocacy work. Medsin is also the UK branch of the IFMSA (International Federation of Medical Student's Associations), the official student voice at the World Health Organisation.

The annual National Conference is one of the largest of its kind in the UK, bringing together over 400 future leaders in global health and advancing student thinking on global health issues. The conference has an international profile attracting delegates from around the world with the aim of encouraging dialogue and discussion. Past conferences have attracted a wide range of internationally renowned speakers, from the World Health Organisation, United Nations, Government and NGOs.

The 2008 Medsin National Conference will look at the nature and distribution of power in global health and consider health in the context of international politics, economics and society. In doing so, we hope to enable these future healthcare workers to understand the wider social context of their profession. Finally we also seek to motivate these students to address questions of how we as students can engage with the democratic process to empower the disenfranchised.

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