Access to Essential Medicines DVD

As some of you may know, the recent IFMSA conference held in Canterbury (Aug 2007) had as its central theme the topic of Access to Essential Medicines. Duncan Still was Theme Coordinator and, as such, had to come up with ways to bring the theme alive throughout the conference. As a team, we came with up all sorts of ingenious ways to get people learning about the topic – the overall idea being to first get people educated around the topic, then to motivate them to do something about it and finally to activate a range of projects for people to go home and get involved in. The pièce de résistance in our educational barrage was undoubtedly the DVD we produced, which includes two films and 5 Computer Assisted Learning tutorials.

The Films:

  • One is a 3.5-minute pilot film which just introduces the main topics with no exploration of the themes.
  • The other is a more in-depth look at the topic and lasts 18 minutes. It is a starting point for people who are interested in knowing more about the issues surrounding Access to Essential Medicines. In it, we interview medical students, representatives from NGOs, the Pharmaceutical industry and experts from within academia. We look at what we mean my AEM, why it's an important issue, who the major players are and what can be done to improve the situation.
  • If you click here, you can download a worksheet designed to help you/a class of students get the most out of watching the film.

The films can only brush the surface, so if you're interested in knowing more, try going to The Lancet, MSF, DfID's resources, and the WHO.

We would like to thank BMA, Skillshare International (for funding), Television Trust for the Environment (for access to amazing footage), and the University of Nottingham Audiovisual Department and Medical Education Department (for technical assistance and equipment). Without them, the DVD would not have been possible.

The Computer Assisted Learning Tutorials

The Computer Assisted Learning Tutorials were researched and produced by a team of medical students at Bristol University in collaboration with University of Nottingham Medical Education Unit. They cover the following areas:

  • CAL 1 - International Determinants of Drug Availability: TRIPS, patents for drugs and the WTO
  • CAL 2 – Neglected diseases and Neglected people: Solving the Research Gap
  • CAL 3 – Access to medicines or access to healthcare? Ensuring access for all in a globalised world
  • CAL 4 – Ensuring "reliable supply systems" for Essential Medicines
  • CAL 5 - Tackling the issue of Access to Essential Medicines in the 21st century

Buy the DVD

Unfortunately, we no longer have any copies of the DVD left. Go to http://ukam2007.pbwiki.com/ to access the online resources instead.

Last updated on Tuesday 19 August 2008 at 19:56.