13th October 2011 is World Sight Day so the Global Health Gateway will carry this focus on 'Eye Health' throughout the month!  Read more about World Sight Day below, revisit previous Feature Articles and join discussion on the Forum. 

The World Health Organisation and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness together form Vision 2020; a global initiative advocating for the prevention of avoidable blindness. Headlining their yearly calendar is World Sight Day on the second Thursday of October each year, which aims to promote visual impairment and blindness as major global public health concerns which require the attention of the public, the health sector and government bodies. 

While there have been significant improvements in the rates of visual loss due to infectious disease, visual impairment and blindness remains a significant global public health concern, one that is often overlooked. The burden of visual impairment can be difficult to appreciate from the comfort of a developed nation perspective, perhaps because there is revenue for investment not only in treatment but also in educational, social and occupational rehabilitation for those affected. In settings with limited resources, blindness is often both consequent to and cause of socio-economic disadvantage. Without the infrastructure to support those affected, educational opportunities, employment prospects and even social interactions are limited. 

There are still 284 million people estimated to be affected by visual impairment or blindness globally, with the majority of cases occurring in the developing world. This is despite the fact that nearly 80% of these cases are avoidable, while sight restoration and blindness prevention strategies are considered some of the most cost-effective interventions in health care. 

In recognition of World Sight Day 2011, this month we will be featuring the story of Kerryn Hart, an optometrist from Victoria who has worked in a variety of developing world settings, most recently as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development in Cambodia. Watch this space for an upcoming profile on the Fred Hollows Foundation, and more information on international ophthalmology training opportunities. 

> Find out more about World Sight Day 2020
> Find out how you or your institution can get involved in Vision 2020 

What are the ethics of working in global health?  Here is a reminder of the need to cultivate an ‘ethical sensibility’ as global health workers.  Read more in the Personal Stories and have your say on the Forum.

Ethics is often not a big consideration when preparing for work in global health, with the assumption that global health is by definition ‘good’.  However, there is an increasing recognition that it should be – especially since working in global health frequently involves enormous differentials in power, wealth and knowledge and huge potential for its abuse!

Ask anyone who has been involved in global health and you will hear stories of well-intentioned but over-zealous people getting themselves in trouble.  Some mistakes are relatively benign, but others cause great damage – injuring patients, destroying community trust and undermining the goals of global health itself.  Mistakes will happen to us all, but adhering to some simple ethical guidelines can go a long way to getting us by!

In 2010, the Global Health Gateway developed a set of ‘Ten Principles’.  Here they are, let us know what you think.

Sophie introduces us to Global Health Drinks and tells us about meeting some inspiring people at this innovative forum.  See the Calendar for more events, and read more Personal Stories.

As a newcomer to Sydney, a quick google search of local events pertaining to global health quickly led me to the Global Health Drinks initiative. It is open to all members of the health profession, so I placed myself on their mailing list and got the opportunity to join the Global Health Drinks event in July at the Lord Dudley Hotel in Paddington.  Not knowing a soul, I was warmly welcomed by fellow attendees and there was a great chance to meet other people involved and/or interested in global health over a drink prior to the guest speakers’ presentations.

In this instance Dr. Clara Chow, a Cardiologist, Lecturer and Researcher shared her account of her time in India, the details of her study experiences in India, England and Canada. Her PhD on cardiovascular disease and risk factors in India highlighted not only a major global health issue, but also gave us an insight to some of the influential factors of conducting a research project overseas.

Phil Baker introduced us to the Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network (yp-CDN) and outlined the movement of the network in light of the United Nations Special High-Level Meeting on Non-communicable Chronic Diseases to be held in September 2011.

A short break to top up our drinks, and have a nibble to eat, and then Dr. Carolyn Sein gave an account of her experiences in global health. These have taken her to many - often remote - settings in the Pacific, Asia and Africa and have resulted in many learning experiences and opportunities within a medical, international public health and human rights context. With future plans to work with the Center for Disease Control in the USA and a PhD on the cards, her journey is by no means over. Carolyn’s outlook at story was an inspiration and testament to the importance of being passionate about your work.  Carolyn ended her talk with an impressive list of ideas on ways to embark on your own global health journey (if you would like the list, contact the GHD team as I have, and they’ll be able to send it to you).  

The GHD website lists its future events, in addition to jobs and resources worth looking at. The Global Health Drinks is a wonderful concept and I found it to be an opportunity to engage with enthusiastic and talented young professionals in the field of public health - definitely worth putting in your diary!

Volunteering is a great way for health workers of varying experience to contribute meaningfully to communities around the globe.  Here is an update on what opportunities are available for Australian and New Zealand health workers - please reply to share more.  You can find more information in Find a Job, and on the Work and Volunteering Forum.

It is an exciting time for anyone interested in volunteering in global health, with two recent developments making it much easier to get involved.  Firstly, Kevin Rudd MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs, recently launched AusAID's new volunteer program - Australian Volunteers for International Development.  The program is part of the Australian Government’s $55 million commitment to international volunteering in 2011/12 and will see more than 900 volunteers on assignment in 33 countries in Asia, the Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, as well as developing nations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Secondly, for those of you interested in medical assignments the Australian Medical Association (AMA) is launching a 'Guide to Working Abroad' on Tuesday 21 June.  Members of the Global Health Gateway will be attending (and have been involved in developing the guide), along with guest speakers Prof Rob Moodie and Prof Mike Toole, and a number of the volunteer agencies highlighted below.  See more details on the Calendar, and view the flyer here.

Continue reading for an overview of the new Australian Volunteers for International Development program, and the other major volunteer programs that send health workers on assignment.