About
Foreign aid is defined as a voluntary transfer of supplies, knowledge or service from one country to another. International health is an expanding field in medicine that is gaining momentum seen by an increase in governmental spending, increase in number of health care workers traveling abroad and an increase in postgraduate and undergraduate involvement. Canadian anesthesia residency programs have seen the same increase in awareness and enthusiasm in global health. Over the last several years numerous residents and staff have traveled abroad to assist in humanitarian work.
Providing helpful foreign aid is difficult and often carries many ethical and logistical considerations. We have seen harm caused by well-intentioned organizations as a result of lack of understanding and appreciation of the complexity of providing aid.
To help unravel and understand issues that pertain to effective aid delivery, CAS IEF along with other international partners, has developed a global health curriculum. The curriculum is directed towards residents who will take part in humanitarian projects. The curriculum explores the history of foreign aid, navigates through types of foreign assistance, considers several public health topics, critically appraises aid efforts and discusses ethical aspect of international health. The website can serve as a tool to discover foreign experiences to better match the volunteer. Helpful preparatory information will be available to make the trip safe, enjoyable and above all to do no harm.
We look forward to working with you.