Education and learning
02 March, 2006
Download PDF Document 
(631 KB)
The medical student’s guide to essential international health and development
The Elective Pack -
The medical student’s guide to essential international health and development
Available to download on http://www.ihmec.ucl.ac.uk/IntHealthElective/Resource_Pack/ElectivePack.pdf
© Published in 2004 by the International Health and Medical Education Centre
(IHMEC), University College London, London.
© International Health and Medical Education Centre
IHMEC website www.ihmec.ucl.ac.uk
Email ihmec@ucl.ac.uk
Author
Rebecca Hope, BSc International Health, 2001–02, International Health and
Medical Education Centre, University College London.
Table of Contents
Foreword 2
Thinking about Electives 3
The World Today… 5
The Global Playing Field 11
Trade, Debt and Structural Adjustment 17
Infectious Disease in Developing Countries 25
HIV/AIDS: the Modern Plague? 29
Bitter Pills: Access to Essential Medicines 33
Nutrition and Water: Food Mountains and Blue Gold 37
Fractured Families 43
Conflict and Health 47
Ethical Electives 51
Essentials for Elective Travel: Know Before You Go 55
Links, Websites and Further Reading 61
Glossary 62
List of figures and tables
Figure 1: North-South divide: GDP per capita from 1820–1998 7
Figure 2: Net worth of the world’s richest 200 people 1994–1998 14
Table 1: Where do we spend these resources? 6
Table 2: Top corporations and GDP of countries 20
Table 3: Common infectious diseases in developing countries 26
Table 4: Big pharma and big profits 34
Table 5: From idea to patient: the drug development chain 34