Student Leads International Medical Association General Assembly.
School of Public Health MPH student Salma Abdalla served as plenary chairperson at the General Assembly of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), held in Malta from March 2 to 8.
During the assembly, Abdalla was also elected to the federation’s supervising council as an interim member.
The assembly brought together 1,300 medical students from 82 countries.
Modeling on the United Nations, the federation invites former leaders to head assemblies. Abdalla was secretary general of the federation two years ago while completing her MD in her home country of Sudan.
“My experience here at BUSPH and in global health gave me a broader perspective,” says Abdalla, who graduates this spring.
A public health education “definitely enriched whatever contribution I can give the federation,” she adds, “thinking not only from a clinical point of view but from a health system point of view, from a policy point of view.”
Abdalla is the 2015 recipient of the Jenny Huddart Scholarship. Her work at SPH has focused on the sexual and reproductive rights of women, particularly in Sudan.
The IFMSA, founded in 1951, is one of the world’s oldest and largest student-run organizations. With 127 national member organizations in 119 countries around the globe, the federation initiates projects and advocacy efforts to improve health, and organizes more than 13,000 clinical and research exchange programs for students to explore innovations in medicine, healthcare systems, and healthcare delivery.