Chairman of the International Committee
Dr Edwin Borman
Monday 1 July 2002
Illness, ageing and death are limited by no boundaries. In our interconnected world nor should Medicine be.
These are the primary reasons why the BMA has an International department, through which we are able to share, and explore with others, our understanding of the ethics, science, politics and practice of our profession.
Over many years we have attempted to ensure that our policies are supported by factual evidence, are researched to as complete a degree as is feasible, and are implemented in an even-handed manner. We have applied this approach consistently and while not always popular with groups that have lobbied us, or that we may seek to influence we have not allowed ourselves to be swayed by unsupported opinions, however sincerely held.
This approach has led to the BMA having an international reputation as an organisation with integrity that is not afraid to speak out on matters that affect the health of all.
I emphasise these fundamentals because this has been a year in which we have all become more aware of the global nature of threats to the health of populations, whether through natural disasters, epidemics, poverty, exploitation, terrorism or warfare.
Our agenda is as challenging as it is global.
The BMAıs International department also has a reputation for achieving results. This is largely dependent on the hard work of our secretariat: Sallie Nicholas, Isabel Fish, Ben Duncan, Jo Constable, Bernice DeıAth and Darshna Gohil, to all of whom, on your behalf, I extend appreciation. I also thank my colleague committee members who approach our agenda with dedication, intellectual rigour and generally directed at me a fair share of light-hearted teasing. I shall particularly miss Rab Hyde who
embodies all these qualities as he retires from our UEMS delegation.
Results with potentially widespread applicability flowing from our involvement in international organisations include: lessons from the Working Time Directive conference linked to the meeting of the PWG held this year in London; the UEMS Declaration of Basel on Continuing Professional Development; and the adoption of a WMA declaration on the assurance of healthcare services against the background of the terrible events in the Middle East.
The BMA continues its work with a broad coalition of organisations, such as the ODA, to help refugee doctors in the UK re-establish their careers. The national database, set up by the BMA with the Refugee Council, now has on it nearly 650 doctors. The increasing national profile of this issue and the number of individual successes is both humbling and gratifying, and makes
all of these efforts worthwhile.
The BMA offers such colleagues in extreme hardship a special membership benefits package and, through its Charities, support with examination fees.
We have published and circulated guidelines on clinical attachments, written by two members of our Refugee Doctor Liaison Group, and are currently distributing a new guide for refugee doctors, prepared by the Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE).
It is disturbing to note that more than a quarter of the doctors on our refugee doctor database come from just one country, Iraq. Following much research, and having met many of these colleagues, I have been made painfully aware of the conditions they have fled and the causes of their plight, indeed the plight of all the ordinary citizens of that country.
In addressing the resolution of last yearıs ARM on sanctions against Iraq we had very constructive meetings with Ben Bradshaw, then relevant Minister at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and with his officials. We were therefore particularly pleased to see the UK take a leading role in encouraging the UN Security Council to adopt a system of "smart sanctions" targeted at the Iraqi regime rather than the population as a whole. The response of various parties to this UNSC resolution has been particularly
helpful in sifting through the propaganda and misinformation that clouds this subject.
While preserving our independence, over the past year we have also worked closely with the Department of Health, assisting in the development of its guidelines on ethical recruitment. It is essential that the UK does not actively recruit from developing countries that need their doctors more than we do. More recently we have been approached by the Department for International Development, which is interested in working more closely with the BMA in assisting other countries.
We are monitoring efforts to rebuild the health care and medical training systems in Afghanistan and are keen to support such efforts. One channel via which we can offer practical help is the BMA/BMJ Information Fund, set up to respond to requests from institutions in developing countries and other areas, of need for books and educational materials. So far we have made, or are processing, donations to institutions in countries including Iraq, Somaliland, Nigeria, Nepal, India, Uganda, Bangladesh and Sierra Leone, and have also worked closely with the charity Book Aid International.
The BMA is both a trade union and a professional organisation. Our Brussels office has been particularly important in this dual role, allowing us to influence a range of European institutions. With a new directive on professional recognition at the top of the Commissionıs healthcare agenda, this will continue to be important. While we are delighted that our lobbying on the current draft legislation promises significant improvements for colleagues who are EEA citizens and have third country qualifications, there is much that will require further lobbying.
I finish with a welcome to our guests, from many countries, from Russia for the first time, old friends and new from every continent, each of whom can attest to the BMA being a truly international organisation.
Chairman, I move.