Mr Chris Collins

For me, global health is very personal. It all began during the HIV epidemic, when I was in my early 20s. The US government was not standing up and responding to HIV, and my friends and I were fearful for our lives. It was very difficult to know that the health services you needed were not a priority. But that experience was my motivation.

In the 1990s, together with a team, I founded the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC). Back then, I was also working for then-congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (now Speaker of the house). We realised that there were big disincentives against doing research on HIV vaccine development. We wanted to fix that, to make the market work in favour of global health.

We then realised that we should do the same for other biggest infectious disease killers in the world. TB and malaria came up immediately. We drafted legislation to provide incentives for R&D on HIV, TB and malaria. Sadly, the legislation never passed, but it caught the attention of then President Clinton, who called for such incentives during one of his addresses. This was crucial in contributing to the conversation.

Today, I’m leading an organisation - Friends of the Global Fight - which is working to increase US investment in the Global Fight against TB, HIV and Malaria. Lesson learnt - even if you’re not doing it perfectly, advocacy in global health is needed. We need to use our voice.

No matter what career you get involved in, don’t forget to be an advocate. Community advocates around the world are instrumental to the response to HIV and other diseases. Stay with your passion, stay with the things that matter to you. That’s your best guide.

Building a Global Health Community in YLLSOM

An excerpt from Careers Digest, Magazine Issue 3, August 2020 by the 71st MedSoc Careers Directorate.

Written by: Kalista Wan and Jonathan Pong, Edited by: Choo Ying Jie.

It started with a thought 2 students independently shared — is there a place in school to learn, discuss, and discover healthcare beyond ourselves that anyone can comfortably join?

That nascent thought, which we realised many shared as well, led the founding of Global Health Interest Group (GHIG). After numerous discussions, meetups and a link-up by the Careers Director, we finally launched in May, 2020.

What is Global Health? It is an area of study, research and practice that prioritises improving and achieving equity in health for all people, worldwide. The need for Global Health is underpinned by justice, altruism and interdependence - recognising that we are increasingly interconnected in our world. Being engaged is not merely paramount for someone desiring a global health career, but is integral through all that we do in Medicine. We see many facets of global health in the news - from rural health, to socioeconomic determinants of health in different countries, to health policies and transnational cooperation. Singapore thrives on interconnectedness to the world, is definitely influenced by and positioned to be a key actor in Global Health, and so we thought, “Why not start now, in medical school?”

Our Interest Group is special because we don’t fit into the mold of a typical CSIG or project. While we offer opportunities to learn skills and competencies required to provide globally-minded healthcare, we also have a passionate ExCo working on programs for members and students. We hope to create a chill, yet meaningful experience for anyone interested to do what you love and love what you do.

For GHIG’s first 2 years, we will focus on building the community and providing learning opportunities for students to experience and be exposed to more Global Health issues.

We are currently exploring this through:

1. overseas electives and learning trips,

2. creating a repository of electives and resources to further our learning journeys, and

3. mentorship opportunities for our members with mentors who have walked the path before us.

GHIG’s highlights include our trimonthly Anchor sessions, where audiences will hear doctors and other experts share their insights on global health topics. For our inaugural session, we were privileged to invite Dr Tan Lai Yong to speak on Rural Health. It was wonderful to hear about what it means to serve rural communities, and also receive advice on how to enter the field. To date, our 2 month old Global Health Interest Group has 15 ExCo members and 60+ members. and we couldn’t be more grateful. In the years to come, we hope to work towards becoming doctors with a heart and mind for the wider world. If our vision resonates with you, please join us by filling up this form tinyurl.com/GHIGsignup. You can also stay tuned to our exciting updates by following us @globalhealthig on Instagram! See you there!