Welcome,
On 5/29, President Trump announced that the United States would pull its funding and terminate its relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO is a critical player in the maintenance and promotion of health internationally. Through its efforts to eradicate infectious disease, improve access to care, and combat health crises worldwide, its role in supporting countries and the international community is truly indispensable. The US is currently the largest source of budgetary contributions for the WHO. The decision to leave during an international pandemic will almost certainly have deleterious effects on the health of the world and the United States, whose own Center for Disease Control notes that “an outbreak anywhere is a threat everywhere."
As students and trainees with the vision of “sustainable and accessible surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia care worldwide,” we believe that international cooperation as demonstrated by membership in the WHO will be critical to achieving these goals. As such, we aim to use our platform and voices to advocate for the US remaining in the WHO. We hope to do so by not only engaging our chapters across the US, but anyone who wants to be a part of this campaign and encouraging them to use the following materials to coordinate outreach and advocacy efforts. These will include communication to legislators and representatives, as well as participation in a targeted social media campaign. Instructions regarding participation are discussed below.
If you are interested in learning more about WHO and PAHO, we have prepared a brief overview document.
You are welcome to share this info sheet with your peers!
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Thank You
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the Global Surgery Student Alliance at globalsurgerystudents@gmail.com. We appreciate you taking the time to speak out against this decision and to support the health of Americans and citizens around the world.
We also are always looking for additional resources and ways to improve, so if you have any ideas, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
Best,
The GSSA Team
Anusha Jayaram, Tufts MD/MBA Candidate, National Co-Chair GSSA
Tara Ahmadi, MPH, Tufts University MD Candidate, National VP of Advocacy
Praveen Rajaguru MPH, Brown MD Candidate, Brown GSSA Executive Committee