MMS Program on Global Child Health Part of Nationwide Campaign

On October 27, the MMS sponsored “Global Child Survival: Today’s Most Pressing Challenges.” This free CME program addressed the global burden of malnutrition, dehydration, infectious disease, vaccination, and newborn health.

“Each year, ten and a half million children in the developing world die from mainly preventable causes,” said Jonathan Spector, M.D., chair of the MMS Committee on Global Medicine, which organized the program. “This conference was designed to give doctors some of the tools necessary to address these problems.”

The program is just one component of Rx for Survival, a multimedia effort produced by Boston public television station WGBH that explores the vital yet often invisible role public health plays in enhancing our lives. The project is designed to advance the public’s understanding of global health and provide ways individuals can make the world a stronger, healthier place. Rx for Survival includes a six-part television documentary airing on WGBH November 1 through 3 at 9 p.m. each night. This series will examine what makes people sick, what keeps them healthy, and what it would take to give good health the upper hand. The multimedia effort also includes a Time Magazine special issue on global health scheduled to hit newsstands on October 31, a series of stories about global health issues that will air on National Public Radio the first week of November, the Rx for Survival website (www.pbs.org/rxforsurvival), and a companion book by Phil Hilts.

WGBH contacted the MMS as part of an effort to build a local coalition of organizations to challenge the citizens of Massachusetts to learn and do more about global health. “There are so many physicians and organizations here concerned with these issues, it didn’t take long to put together an outstanding faculty for this program,” said Dr. Spector. “It is only natural for Massachusetts physicians to be concerned about what is happening outside our immediate community and assist in whatever way possible. The Committee on Global Medicine is here to support the many Massachusetts physicians already involved in health-related activities around the world, and to facilitate opportunities for others who want to become involved.”

For more information about the Committee on Global Medicine and its efforts, visit www.globalmedicine.org.

– Robyn Alie