Medical Council

A Day of Resolutions

by Audrey A-Asamoah

On the second day of the MUN WEB Conference, the Medical Council put up a strong front to work together to bring out solutions to help solve problems outlined in their first topic which is ‘Handling other diseases during a pandemic.’ After beginning the process on day one, they came back refreshed and more energised with more concrete ideas to see the topic to a successful end.

It began with The Delegate of India finalising the idea of a special funding for the World Health Organisation (WHO) where member states of the United Nations (UN) would contribute a certain percentage of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which should be used specifically for fighting these Tuberculosis (TB), malaria and HIV. The Delegate from China added that this funding should only be temporary since there is already some sort of funding from member states. The Delegate from Doctors Without Borders (DWB) was more concerned with specifying the amount or percentage of the GDP and also to consider the current economic situation of most countries since they are struggling financially.

The Delegate from India also mentioned that an online tracing platform like one called E-Health which is already in existence through the WHO which is used to generate better  data and interventions on TB. The Delegate also added that other member states could adopt a collaborative initiative between India and the WHO called the STOP TB initiative which is used for guidance, planning, developing and managing such systems like the E-Health platform to improve the tracing of these diseases which would be beneficial to them. The Netherlands Delegation expressed concerns about whether such a platform respected the data protection rules of the countries. The Delegates also agreed on having a taskforce that will focus on prevention of diseases through campaigns and assistance from Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and also work on promoting campaigns to educate people on the benefits of receiving vaccinations and treatment when the need arises and to reduce stigmatisation and fear. Furthermore, they stated that bi-annual global health reports could be made on TB, malaria and HIV infections to show the evolution of these diseases and how well the prevention and treatment plans are working.

Another solution raised by the delegates was the effective and periodic training of medical personnel through workshops and outreach programs. Most importantly, countries should take it upon themselves to improve upon the livelihoods of health professionals in the rural areas by enhancing their education and training and also giving them sufficient financial incentives so as to retain them. The Delegate from DWB in one of her speeches mentioned that there should be funds dedicated to funding medical research especially working together to find a cure for HIV since none exist at the moment and also improve vector control methods to reduce the spread of infectious diseases through constant provision of insecticide nets, continuous spraying of homes and other buildings normally occupied by people and educating people on benefits of keeping their surroundings clean. Delegates also agreed that there should be cooperation between public and private health facilities to educate the public health facilities in furthering the development of newly approved and effective medicines.

After the draft resolution was finished, no amendment was made on the draft and there was a majority vote in favour of passing the resolution. A motion was later voted upon on the adoption of the second agenda which is ‘Providing medical aid to rural regions in low poverty red countries,’ which will be tackled fully on the final day of the conference.