Today, we are presenting an ambitious and inspiring student-led charity. As a sustainable social enterprise, we are very happy to be sharing their amazing initiative that aims to reduce medical waste by reusing and redistributing medical equipment.
--The Conscious Change Team.
Written by Alba Saenz de Villaverde and Shazlin Shek Daud from StudentMedAID
For many years, we’ve known climate change is a significant public health threat. Our lifestyles have threatened not only the health of the planet but, ironically, our own as well. Paradoxically, medicine itself, the apparent cure to our ills, also has a considerable environmental impact. In fact, the NHS was previously found to be one of the most significant public-sector contributors to the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. Since then, considerable steps have been taken both within and outside this large organisation to solve this issue. However, our work at Student MedAID shows more work needs to still be urgently done.
We call for a vast social movement where sustainability is the norm, not the anomaly. And hope to aid, in the short-term, through work, and in the long-term through our advocacy, to reducing healthcare inequalities worldwide. Our society aims to encourage further thinking and research into potential opportunities to reduce the medical waste footprint and facilitate the progress of the healthcare sector towards economic, social and environmental sustainability.
What is StudentMedAID?
Student MedAID is a student-led society and charity, based primarily at the University of Edinburgh. We collect unwanted and out of date, but viable medical equipment from hospitals in Edinburgh and, more recently throughout the UK. We then coordinate its redistribution to under-resourced medical institutions abroad through medical students on electives, humanitarian health workers and other NGOs.
Over the past year, we have coordinated with a range of charities such as the Gambia Volunteers Trust, AlBir-SCIO (Chad), Rock Project Uganda, Project Soweto (South Africa) and many others to deliver equipment to up to 11 different countries throughout the world. We understand that what is urgently needed, in addition to immediate action, is increased legislation, healthcare funding and international cooperation. Yet we hope to, in a way, provide a short-term, student-led solution while advocating for long-term change.
It is apparent what is needed are sustainable strategies and NHS policies. In addition to collecting equipment, we have begun to advocate for this through presentations at local hospitals. In the future, we hope our message is heard throughout the community so that healthcare leaders and members of the public alike are inspired to implement the approaches needed to reduce waste. From our presentation of stories from our donations, we hope to also raise awareness about the urgent need for reducing healthcare inequalities throughout the world and providing aid for those who most need it. The will, motivation and need are there, the only thing lacking is resources.
We have helped open a new sister organisation in Leeds, and are looking forward to expanding to Oxford and Dundee next semester. People are slowly getting to know more and more about what we do, and we are humbled by the willingness from hospital staff and volunteers to help us, help others and help the environment!
What inspires us?
As expressed by our current President, Alba “We all wanted to become doctors in order to do something meaningful with our lives and make a difference. But it is not just people who are suffering, but the planet itself. And that is something we need, and are, striving to address and improve. At MedAID, we believe we can truly make a difference, through simple acts that in coordination can lead to change. It is heart-warming to be told and see the direct impact we have in people’s lives, especially as we hear from medical students on electives or the NGOs we donate to. We are inspired by the belief that anyone, at any moment of their lives, can make a difference not only to their community but to the whole planet. We cannot wait for the future to arrive, we need to act now”.
Vice-President, Shazlin Shek Daud strongly believes that “What we do at MedAID is an excellent example that simple acts can contribute to a bigger cause which hugely benefits the community and the environment”.
From our Resource Coordinator’s, Svenja Harvey, point of view, “MedAID indirectly helps boost economic sustainability as it donates, for free, lifesaving medical equipment that is desperately needed by some countries while also reducing the burden of disposing of unused equipment – also contributing to environmental sustainability”.
Grace Loy, Secretary, expressed that “No matter how small we think our actions are, as long as we strive to help reduce, reuse and sustainably recycle products and material, we can help improve the quality of our lives while living within the carrying capacity of the Earth’s supporting ecosystem”.
Kelsey Campbell, our Publicity says “This might be a small step out of our way to collect and redistribute supplies, but can be a life-changer for those who need them. It is not only helping individuals but making the world more sustainable”.
Our Edward Foo, Finance, commented “MedAID is a small society with a big heart and a big impact on the lives of those living in regions with fewer resources. With all the uncertainty kicked up by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the massive drain that the pandemic has had on health systems worldwide, it’d be interesting to see if MedAID is able to play an expanded role going forward”.
Last year’s Secretary and current general committee member, Sophie Trippleton, joined MedAID Edinburgh “after hearing about the brilliant work they do to promote global health and sustainability” — the two things she’s passionate about.
Get Involved!
We are always looking for passionate members to join our committee, our volunteer network, donate unwanted medical equipment or even set up their own local Student MedAID. Just taking a few moments of your day can make a huge difference in our community. Follow our Facebook (Student MedAID), Instagram (student_medaid), Twitter (Student_MedAID) or webpage (https://www.studentmedaid.org) for more updates, and feel free to drop us an email at studentmedaid@gmail.com. The simplest thing you can do is let others know about us. So please like, subscribe and comment!