*==================================================================* * SYNERGY ONLINE: Bulletins and News Briefs from * * The Canadian Society for International Health * * [log in to unmask] * *==================================================================* CSIH WWW SITE -------------- Effective December 1, 1994, a new CSIH (The Canadian Society for International Health) Internet WWW (World Wide Web) site is publicly available. Point your WWW browser to: http://hpb1.hwc.ca:8500/default.html The CSIH home page features information on CSIH and its programs, back issues of Synergy Online and links to related organizations and WWW sites. -------------------------------------------------------------------- MEKONG EYE DOCTORS MED VACANCY IN CAMBODIA ------------------------------------------- Within the scope of the "MED Eye Care Development Programme for Pursat Province in the Royal Kingdom of Cambodia" Foundation Mekong Eye Doctors MED has a vacancy for an experienced: Ophthalmologist/Eye Surgeon: to be deployed per 1 April 1995 for a first period of six months at Pursat Provincial Hospital, Pursat, Cambodia. This MED Programme has started in September 1994 and is being performed in collaboration with Medecins Sans Frontieres MSF Holland/Belgiun and Pursat Provincial Hospital. The MED Programme is supervised by the Cambodian Ministry of Health. The general objective is to upgrade secondary and primary eye care at Pursat Province. The first step will be provision of training to Cambodian doctors/medical assistants to a secondary level, and establishment of a permanent eye clinic at Pursat Provincial Hospital. In addition, a referral system for eye patients via district hospitals and community health centers must be developed to implement primary eye care throughout Pursat Province. Therefore, major tasks of the candidate are to provide: (i) general and clinical class training in opthalmology to a group of selected candidates from the hospital; (ii) theoretical and practical training and instruction at OPD (iii) theoretical and practical training and instruction on surgical treatment of major eye diseases (cataract, pterygium, glaucoma, entropion). (iv) regular performance of OPD consultations and eye surqery at the hospital. It should be noted that candidates must have experience in working under hardship circumstances, and that a good working knowledge in speaking and writing in English and French is a requirement. Candidates are kindly requested to send their application letter, including a curriculum vitae and names of at least two referies, to the following address: MED Head Office attn: Dr Eric J. van Agtmaal Director Prof. Junkerslaan 3 1185 JL Amstelveen THE NETHERLANDS Phone: 31-20-6473879 Fax: 31-20-6432490 -------------------------------------------------------------------- CANADA'S FIRST INTERNATIONAL HEALTH CONFERENCE ----------------------------------------------- Response to the First Canadian Conference on International Health was exciting and almost overwhelming. We had expected perhaps 300 people to register. In fact, more than 500 -- approximately 150 of them from overseas -- took part in the three-day event in Ottawa in November. The conference generated over 130 abstracts which resulted in 34 roundtables, workshops and sets of concurrent sessions. Some 25 per cent of those at the conference were students, and the quality of their presentations was impressive. As one participant pointed out: "It bodes well for the future. The young people asked very challenging questions and it reinforced my belief that we have a new generation of exciting young people coming up." Dr. Nancy Gerein, chairperson of the organizing committee, said afterwards: "We are absolutely delighted with the turn-out. It shows that this is an event whose time has come. A great many people have asked us if we will repeat the conference next year. We've already started planning, and with the feedback and suggestions we've received from participants, we hope next year's conference will be even bigger and better." Titled "Canada's evolving role in international health: where we've been and where we're going," the conference was organized by CSIH and the Canadian University Consortium for Health in Development with the support of the International Development Research Centre, the Pan American Health Organization and the Canadian International Development Agency. Theme for the first day was decentralization of the health sector, and Christine Stewart, Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa, gave the opening address. The second day was organized around challenges to equity-centred health and development and included presentations on the declining health care situation in the Ukraine, the situation in Guinea, and the projects being undertaken by the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee. The third day focused on developing effective national and community-based health information systems with practical demonstrations of computer-assisted models. The closing session began with a luncheon address by Dr. Dean Jamison, principal author of the 1993 World Development Report "Investing in Health," and then turned to a panel discussion on the future of Canada's role in international health. The panel members were Carolyn McAskie, vice-president for Africa and the Middle East at CIDA, Dr. Pedro Mendoza-Arana, president of the non-governmental organization Alternativa in Peru, Maureen O'Neil, president of the North-South Institute, and Dr. Pierre Viens, director of the Centre de cooperation international en sante et developpement at Laval University. Look for more news on the conference in the December issue of the print version of _Synergy_. The full print issue will NOT be put on-line. If you wish to subscribe, send Cdn$16.05 (this includes GST, postage and handling) to: CSIH, Suite 902, 170 Laurier Ave. W, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1P 5V5. Alternatively, you can receive subscription free if you become a CSIH member (regular membership costs Cdn$40). *==================================================================* SYNERGY ONLINE is an online update to _SYNERGY_, the quarterly newsletter of the Canadian Society for International Health. For more information contact [log in to unmask] *==================================================================*