Background of ACTION Project    

During IFMSA March Meeting in Venezuela in March 2004, some members of IFMSA Japan and CIMSA Indonesia came up with the idea to have a trans-national project to strengthen collaboration between the two NMOs as well as IFMSA in Asia Oceania region. Since there had been so many natural disasters and outbreaks within the region which lead to refugees problems, it was decided to hold a workshop on refugees’ management with focus on refugees’ health. The project was also inspired by International Training on Refugees’ Health (ITRH) held by IFMSA Pakistan back in 2003. The idea was also supported by the IFMSA SCORP Co-Directors at that time.

The plan was then further discussed during IFMSA Asia Oceania Regional Meeting in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia right after the March Meeting. There were more members involved in the discussion. The committee tried to encourage more IFMSA NMOs in Asia Oceania to join the project. In 2005, IFMSA Thailand and MSA Taiwan decided to join the initiative. The project was initially planned to be held in August 2005 in Indonesia, but because some obstacles the workshop had to be postponed. After the postponement, the IOC chair position was passed on to new committee members.

For the preparation of the project, online meetings were held throughout the years. The committee members also met in IFMSA general assemblies. Communication and fundraising had always been problems, but at the end, the committee could overcome these and had the first ACTION Workshop in Jakarta in March 2006.

The following year we welcomed IFMSA-Thailand. The second ACTION was held in Phuket, Thailand in August 2007. In ACTION08, we have two organizing NMO, AMSA Philippines and IFMSA Taiwan. We decided to hold the 3rd ACTION in Manila in August 2008.

Although ACTION is a young organization, committee members are always thinking of how to improve ACTION and making it more productive. It’s the committee’s great pleasure to offer worthwhile project to medical students all over the world.

The Asian Collaborative Training on Infectious Disease, Outbreak, Natural Disaster and Refugee Management is an official transnational project of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations since 2006. 

Our VISION is to develop human resources in the filed of health care, who can take initiative to relieve people influenced by natural disaster in Asia and Pacific region. 

Our MISSION is to provide students of healthcare from Asia and around the world most of the essential knowledge and skill required to help address and relieve the crisis in Asia and Pacific caused by natural disaster.

• To encourage healthcare students to increase involvement in work areas concerned with assisting people who are influenced by natural disasters.
• To encourage other potential participants as healthcare student leaders to become involved in natural disaster’s relief and intervention.

• To train healthcare students as youth leaders on natural disasters related issues.
• To provide students with basic professional knowledge and the skills necessary to work in areas stricken by natural disasters in the future.

• To build the capacity to initiate and participate in project development, implementation and evaluation of natural disasters in their own countries.
• To disseminate outcomes of the workshop to other potential participants in their own countries by implementing follow up activities.

Proposal Lays