Montréal World Health Organization Simulation

Montréal World Health Organization Simulation (also MonWHO) is an academic simulation of the World Health Organization that aims to educate participants about global health issues, civics, effective communication, globalization and multilateral diplomacy. In MonWHO, students from a wide range of disciplines take on roles as country ambassadors to the World Health Organization, media journalists, non-governmental organizations and pharmaceutical companies to participate in a simulated session of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

Simulation

During the conference, the participants are exposed to professionals working with the WHO. Furthermore, a detailed background document outlining the topic is provided by the organizing committee. The goals of MonWHO are to raise student awareness about global health issues; provide a means for students to play a proactive role in global health policy; acquaint students with the WHO and its role; and develop interprofessional relations between future healthcare professionals as well as amongst students whose fields of expertise play a role in health policy.

Objectives

Attracting students from the fields of health care, political science and international development from universities and colleges all over North America, the aim of MonWHO is to raise political awareness and involvement around issues of global health. Furthermore, the conference hopes to:

  • Develop interprofessional relations between future healthcare professionals as well as among students whose fields of expertise play a role in health policy
  • Inform and raise awareness about global health issues.
  • Provide a means for students to gain awareness of the proactive role they can have in international health policy.
  • Acquaint students with the role of the WHO in global health issues.
  • Provide exposure to the political and economic forces at play in the decision making process of the WHO.
  • Develop policy statements and contribute to the local, national and international discussions on global health policy.

Additional Features
  • Live media coverage throughout the conference - the MonWHO Media Team works with delegates and journalists to conduct interviews, news podcasts, and press releases.
  • Annual Global Health Fair that features NGOs, student groups and projects currently being conducted in the field
  • Provides opportunity to meet delegates from across the country, of all ages and from all disciplines of study and acts as an international platform for students from all disciplines across the country to debate about pressing issues.
  • Charter created by delegates is sent to the real World Health Organization

Theme

Previous Themes

McWHO 2008 (previous name): Migration of Health Workers.

MonWHO 2009: Environmental Health: Access to Food and Water.

MonWHO 2010: Pandemic Control (Level 4 Crisis)

MonWHO 2011: Maternal Health.

MonWHO 2012: Refugee Health.

MonWHO 2013: Corruption in Global Healthcare Systems.

MonWHO 2014: Access to Health Care.

History

The Montreal World Health Organization Simulation was founded under the name McWHO (McGill World Health Organization Simulation) in 2007 by Martin Smoragiewicz, a McGill Medical Student, who was deeply concerned by the lack of recognition by his colleagues of the social determinants of health. Equally aware of the many professionals, both in and out of the healthcare field, who influence health outcomes, Martin wanted to develop an event that allowed his colleagues to challenge their assumptions, broaden their perspectives and develop inter-professional relationships. Martin developed the concept of a simulation of the World Health Organization with the idea in mind that it would offer participants the opportunity to step out into the world as a citizen of the global village while discussing health issues in a political, social and economic context. Participants would assume the role of a country's ambassador to the WHO and work with their peers to develop resolution papers that address global health problems. In 2009, McWHO's name was changed to MonWHO to reflect the population of students who participated in the conference and sat on the Secretariat. Today, MonWHO is proud to welcome delegates from North America and Europe, who are pursuing a variety of studies including Medicine, Engineering, Economics and Law.[1]

Since its inception, MonWHO has been hosted with the support of the McGill International Health Initiative (MIHI),[2] the student branch of McGill's Global Health Program. MonWHO also served as the official meeting spot for the Global Health Advocates of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS) for 2009 and 2010. As of 2011, MonWHO is an officially recognized transnational project of the International Federation of Medical Students Association (IFMSA).[3]

Organization

Secretariat

There are three levels to the MonWHO staff structure: the Secretariat (consisting of the Executive Director and the Under Secretaries General), which is led by the Executive Director; the Senior Staff (consisting of Chairs); and the Junior Staff (consisting of Vice-Chairs).

The Secretary of MonWHO 2014 includes Shu Yang Hu (Executive Director), Chris Cadham (Chief of Staff), Gregory Marks (Theme Director), Kelly Chiu (Public Relations Director), David Benrimoh (Crisis Director), Emily Zhou (Logistics Director), Ayesha Bery (Delegate Resource Coordinator), Alvin Chauhan (VP Finance), Priyanka Bijlani (Chargée d'Affaires), Uzma Ahmed (NGO Fair Coordinator), Leah Zhao (VP Communications), Brian Mann (Media Director).

Awards

Like most Model UN conferences, MonWHO recognizes exceptional delegates with awards at the end of the conference. Awards are given to the delegates who demonstrate strong preparation, excellent speaking skills, adherence to national policy, and exceptional abilities of compromise and negotiation.

  • Best Delegate
  • Outstanding Delegate
  • Honorable Mention

Expansion

Following the success of MonWHO, a number of other universities have introduced WHO simulations. Annual conferences in Toronto (OMWHO), Calgary (CalWHO), and Edmonton (edmontonWHO) have already been established and there are talks of creating similar simulations in both Ottawa and North Carolina.

References
  1. "History | MonWHO 2014". monwho.org. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
  2. "Conferences | McGill International Health Initiative | Med-Dent Student Gateway". students.med.mcgill.ca. Archived from the original on 2014-04-20. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
  3. "IFMSA-Québec". ifmsa.qc.ca. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
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