MUHIANNUALREPORT2019

MELBOURNEUNIVERSITY HEALTH INITIATIVE

This year, we focused on nurturing our volunteers and strengthening all our operational efficiency and consolidating our programs so that we could continue to generate change in our community. We are proud to report that our dedication to these goals has helped us to deliver an exceptional program in 2019, while providing a foundation for growth in the years to come.

Our Student Welfare Outreach Team (SWOT) strengthened its leadership and delivered a program that was both valuable and enjoyable for all of the participating students. Our public lectures also had a record number of audience members and provided a platform for all to discuss some of today’s most challenging public health issues.

This year, the Australian World Health Organisation Conference (AusWHO), Undergraduate Health Case Competition (UGHCC) and Global Health Mentoring Program (GHMP) were revitalised, actively fostering our participants’ curiosity and passion for public health. Globally, the Material Aid Program (MAP) and Kenyan Village Medical Education (KVME) programs broadened their outreach whilst maintaining support for all our long-standing partner communities.

Through the generosity and kindness of our volunteers, sponsors and the community, we have been able to make an impact and we are grateful for all who have been involved in our journey. I have been proud to lead such a passionate and hard-working team this year and I am confident that our organisation will continue to grow, adapt and deliver as we strive towards making a difference.

President’s Address

Over the last 6 years at MUHI, I have witnessed a great deal of growth and development in our organisation and 2019 has been no exception.

Abbie Kanagarajah President 2019

Contents

2019 President’s Message

Program Directory

Student Welfare Outreach Team (SWOT)

Auswho: Refugee Health & Wellbeing

Public Lectures

Kenyan Village Medical Education (KVME)

Material Aids Program (MAP)

UGHCC: Climate Change

2019 Financial Report

MUHI in 2020

Executive Team

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ProgramDirectory

SWOT

AusWHO

KVME

MAP

UGHCC

Public Lectures

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SWOT is a high school outreach program that aims to improve the educational outcomes of VCE students attending secondary schools which are disadvantaged or underrepresented at Victorian universities.

The Australian World Health Organization Conference (AusWHO) is an annual three-day conference in Melbourne where university students from all disciplines will tackle a global health issue as a representative of a United Nations member state or non-governmental organization.

KVME is a preventative medicine campaign in rural Kenya which aims to improve health outcomes through culturally-specific health promotion. Volunteers conduct a training program to educate rural communities on how to mitigate the effects of commonly fatal but easily preventable diseases.

The Material Aid Program (MAP) is a student-run initiative that delivers surplus medical equipment to under-resourced healthcare institutions in the developing world.

The Undergraduate Global Health Case Competition (UGHCC) offers students from all disciplines the opportunity to formulate and present solutions to some of the world’s most pressing global health issues.

MUHI runs a regular series of public lectures on topics targeting a wide audience. It aims to create a bridge between the health industries and our wider community and to enrich the experience of all students at the university by providing thought-provoking talks by prominent guest speakers.

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At SWOT, we aim to emphasise the wellbeing and welfare of students during the stressful VCE period by equipping students with the essential skills needed for success. SWOT reaches out to its target students through its three subprograms - SWOT Week, SWOT Masterclasses and SWOT Virtual.

In 2019, SWOT decided to run Mid-Year SWOT Week once again. It was held across three days in the winter break. An entry fee was introduced to boost attendance-to-registration ratios. SWOT was very fortunate to have the University of Melbourne’s Academic Skills team run a series of workshops to help students with their exam preparation at Mid-Year SWOT Week. End-of-Year SWOT Week was held in the mid-semester break in Semester 2 to great success. Over 50 tutors across seven subjects assisted the 409 students that registered. This year, the SWOT Week Coordinators collaborated with key members of staff and students in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE), as well as past SWOT tutors, to provide tailored and effective training sessions for our tutors.

This year, SWOT Masterclasses were offered to three schools - Braybrook College, Dandenong High School and Roxburgh College. Tutors travelled to these schools to provide 90 minute revision classes to help students with their in-school assessment preparation. Dandenong High School is a new addition to our SWOT Masterclass lineup this year, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them next year.

The SWOT Virtual program provides one-on-one online tutoring to regional students. Due to the flexibility that an online medium provides, students can receive quality tutoring without the hassle of travelling to our other tutoring and revision sessions. This year, SWOT lent graphics tablets to better support our Virtual tutors, particularly those who were tutoring equation-heavy subjects. The tutors found that the graphics tablets greatly improved their ability to tutor students over an online medium. Throughout the year, our team of 34 Virtual tutors logged 170 hours of tutoring across seven subjects.

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SWOT:Student Welfare Outream Team

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The Oral Language Program (OLP), a program found within SWOT Virtual, assists regional students studying a language other than English (LOTE) with their end of year oral exam. Over a six-week period, conversational practice sessions are held over online applications, such as Skype. The OLP saw immense growth in 2019, with the addition of ten new schools across six languages (Chinese, French, Indonesian, German, Japanese, Spanish). In 2019, 30 OLP tutors led over 70 hours of conversational practice.

Numerous changes were made to the SWOT Leadership Team (SWOL) to better instigate a sense of culture within the team. This year, SWOL meetings were consistently held once a fortnight and were always followed by either lunch or dinner. SWOL Retreats were also introduced - a time when all members of the leadership team could get together in a relaxed environment and get to know one another. These changes made SWOL feel much more cohesive than in the past, allowed for smoother communication between team members and made everyone’s time in SWOL more enjoyable. Next year, the team at SWOT are looking forward to expanding our reach to even more of our target students and schools. Additionally, SWOT will trial hosting SWOT Masterclasses on the University of Melbourne campus in order to include more schools in the initiative.

Subject Coordinators:

Andrew Luong (Mathematical Methods), Angela Chan (English), Demi Wright (Biology), Gehan Premaratne (Specialist Mathematics), Gilbert Battistella (Further Mathematics), Han Li (Biology), Rachel Evans (English), Mahen Pathirana (Physics), Sean Yip (Chemistry),Tony Jiang (Physics), Tyler Franke (Physics), Yashi Dao (English), Yiming Wei (Chemistry).

Manager:Katie Shumilova

SWOT Masterclass Coordinators:Allen XiaoGehan Premaratne

SWOT Week Coordinators:Lian RenSusan Xiong

SWOT Virtual Coordinators:Arron TranTanvi Thomas

Communications Officer:Kenneth Guevarra

Events Officer:Yiming Wei

Finance Officer:Jackson Ding

HR Officer:Lily Mei

Consultants:Michael ZhaoTravis Lines

MUHIPrograms

SWOT

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The Australian World Health Organisation conference (AusWHO) took place from the 29th- 31st of March 2019 and was a tremendous success. Over the course of three days, over 80 tertiary students and other budding health enthusiasts from Victorian, interstate and overseas universities came together to discuss and debate the pressing global health issues surrounding refugees and what policies could be enacted to ensure their wellbeing.

Breadth and vision characterised the final resolution that was passed by the AusWHO plenary. The resolution proposed an array of innovative policies, which if implemented, would effectively tackle the major issues faced by refugees today. It was a novel experience for a number of participants and a familiar event for others. Students from various backgrounds took part, and the dynamic and exciting debate that took place during the conference had everyone at the edge of their seats.

On the second day of conference we had the pleasure of being joined by esteemed guest speakers – Dr Chris Higgins from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and Dr Ash Hosseini from the Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population for our speaker panel.

They gave the participants valuable insight on the contemporary situation of refugees and also shed light on how a negative health diagnosis will have a greater impact on vulnerable populations such as refugees. This no doubt helped the participants shape their approach towards tackling the year’s theme.

The Social event also took place on the second day and gave the delegates an opportunity to wind down and get to know each other in a less formal setting. Delegates ventured down to the Clyde Hotel to continue their negotiations deep into the evening in a sophisticated ambience.

All delegates came away from the conference having improved their research, public speaking and negotiation skills. Those that demonstrated astute diplomacy while representing their allocated country or non-state actor were acknowledged with awards or honourable mentions.

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AusWHO:Refugee Health and Wellbeing

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Co-Conveners:Amanda HettiarachchiMae Chow

Committees and Delegate Affairs Coordinators:Jasmine DavisYiming Wei

Sponsorship and Social Coordinators:Maggie TanNicholas Cheng

Marketing and Media Coordinators:Alyssa Gautama Phuongpechara Mar

MUHIPrograms

AusWHO

We thank the AusWHO organising committee (Jasmine Davis, Yiming Wei, Maggie Tan, Nicholas Cheng, Alyssa Gautama and Phuongpechara Mar) for their incredible efforts over the 5 months in working diligently to make AusWHO a great success. We hope that AusWHO will continue to expand and grow in the years to come.

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In 2019, Public Lectures continued to promote discussions of topical healthcare subjects among students and the broader community, particularly focusing on aged and end of life care.

The spotlight of the year must be our panel discussion exploring controversies surrounding the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017. A record-breaking number of audiences were treated to hear from Dr Rodney Syme, a renowned VAD advocate and the recipient of the Australian Humanist of the Year in 2017. Dr Syme was also joined by Dr John Buchannan and Ms Catherine Madigan, who all by sharing their vision of this newly enacted law, advocated for the importance of a patient centred, uncoerced dying experience.

In light of the recent Royal Commission into Aged Care, our second event focused on discussing solutions for the long-standing poor-quality care offered to our Victorian elderlies. Our audiences were exposed to solutions in the making that could transform our approach to aged care on both a systemic and community level.

This included a government-led digital ecosystem that improves monitoring of elderly health, and a neighbourhood led initiative that encourages community to care for elderlies in their streets. For this delightful evening we thank Ms Anita Grindlay (healthcare management consultant) and Mr Matiu Bush (founder of One Good Street).

Public Lectures will return once again in 2020 offering two semesters long modules that will allow participants to perform a deep dive, thank critically and most importantly participate in some of the biggest global health issues of our day.

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Public Lectures

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Following our KVME 2019 team returning at the end of January 2019, along with a series of applications and interviews, our KVME leadership team was selected. We kickstarted the year with assigning portfolios to executive team members and holding a team meeting to discuss plans for the year. We brainstormed new ideas and initiatives and looked at ways to implement these and incorporate feedback from program evaluation and previous volunteers to improve on future KVME programs. From there, we held weekly team meetings to organise and facilitate the year.

2019 HIGHLIGHTS

Semester 1 revision lectures:• Chemistry for Biomedicine• Molecular and Cellular Biomedicine • Molecules to Malady • Human Locomotor Systems

Tastepoint Meat Tasting Fundraiser Event

Volunteer reference booklet development and addition of new topics including Oral, Eye and Bone Health

Cadbury Chocolate Sales in Semester 1 and 2

GAMSAT Lecture Series in collaboration with Barry Lo covering all three sections

Successful in attaining Student Engagement Grant

MAP (Material Aid Program) partnership development and collaboration to prepare first aid kits and blood pressure machines: • MAP First Aid Kit preparation day • MAP First Aid Kit packing • Semester 2 Revision Lectures for:• Viscera and Visceral Systems• Genes and the Environment • Physics for Biomedicine • Mathematics for Biomedicine • Human Structure and Function • Frontiers in Biomedicine

Selection of 2020 KVME team through:• Written application • First round interview• Second round interview • Team meetings

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KVME:Kenyan Village Medical Education

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KVME 2019/2020 Program

After a rigorous selection process involving a written application, first round interview and second round interview, our 2020 KVME team was selected in August this year. Following selection, our team undertook a series of training nights to prepare volunteers for the KVME 2020 trip which they will embark on at the beginning of January 2020. The training included interactive discussions regarding cultural sensitivity, a presentation from Dr Matt Reeve, presentation preparation and first aid training.

The team is currently preparing to embark on the program and we are excited see how the KVME 2020 program goes!

Co-managers:Jasraaj SinghMichael Bei

Trip Coordinator:Michael Bei

Coordinating Team:Inez BeadellCatherine IvesEdward BensonCatharine HallettBojana Gladnac

KVME Team:Michael BeiAngie YounesAnnabelle TurnerArkan YoussefEmily AdamsGrace AickenNoureen ChowdhuryRebecca Castle

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KVME

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The Material Aid Program was first established in 2004, after recognising an imbalance in the provision of health services across the globe. This imbalance continues on today, and health equity remains as relevant as ever.

We, as students, are fortunate to be living in a well resourced and developed setting; however we recognise that this comes with high opportunity for wastage of surplus materials that are still in good condition. Meanwhile, in developing countries, this story is often the complete opposite.

Not uncommonly, single-use items are being reused daily because of the resource strain and therefore limiting the quality of healthcare being provided.

With the view that individuals and societies should have the right to access basic medical equipment and facilities in order to secure their health and well-being, the Material Aid Program aims to:

• Provide an alternative pathway for surplus medical materials from Melbourne hospitals and clinics;

• Minimise the resource strain posed by students

embarking on electives in under-resourced communities;

• Provide relief for under-resourced overseas communities by delivering requested medical equipment and consumables.

Having operated for 15 years, the Material Aid Program maintains its vision for health equity, and continues to source donations of surplus medical equipment from health facilities around the greater metropolitan Melbourne area and package these items for delivery to under-resourced health facilities abroad. Alongside this, MAP experienced a number of refreshing changes to our internal structure and our inventory management.

Firstly, through separating the Projects and Sponsorships portfolios, we were able to maintain an equal workload for each Officer and ensure that each team was specialised for their specific goals. We also designed a new Operational team consisting of a Communications and Evaluations officer to run administrative, behind-the-scenes work alongside Coordinators.

MAP

MAP:Material Aid Program

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Secondly, we placed strong emphasis on maintaining a sense of community and teamwork, by delivering fortnightly newsletter updates internally to the MAP staff, organising quarterly social get-togethers and promoting MAP engagement with the public through our Facebook page.

Thirdly, we transitioned our stock management to a professional online system, and the reorganisation of our inventory. Our fantastic team spent many days working to update our inventory numbers, and shift our stock to a tidier, high-density space that was more appropriate for our level of stock. On top of this, we are immensely grateful to Chris, Neil and Adrian (of our long-time partner, Prompt Distribution) for their assistance with uploading our inventory list to their online system. With this new change, our team can now streamline their work by updating new donations or placing shipment orders online.

And last but not least, this year we have so far delivered over 70kg of medical equipment and consumables to a number of locations across the globe - better yet, we are still in the works to send off at least five more shipments across the 2019-2020 new year. We are immensely proud of our 2019 MAP team who have achieved so much in such a short space of time, and we congratulate their dedication, enthusiasm and organisation. In addition, our work would not be possible without our fantastic partners and student ambassadors. As in previous years, we gratefully acknowledge the generous support of our partners and sponsors, including:

• The MUHI executive team for assisting us in managing our team

• The Old Haileyburians’ Association for financially supporting the work of MAP

• Prompt Distribution for always having open doors, providing us warehouse space, and now also supporting our transition to their online system

• Donations in Kind for allowing us to source copious amounts of supplies for our shipments

To find out more about us, and to see how you can get involved with the Material Aid Program in 2020 and beyond, please visit our page on the MUHI website, and our Facebook page: MUHI Material Aid Program. We look forward to hearing from you!

Program Coordinators: Hannah VuongCaitlyn Nguyen-Ngo

Project Officers: Alana DawelebyNadine Abu-Ghazaleh Daniel OkyereShelley XingRay Xu

Sponsorship Officers: Chanelle WhartonSheryl FernandezDineli Kalansuriya

Communications Officer: Sasha Hall

Evaluation Officer:Renee Jones

MUHIPrograms

MAP

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The Undergraduate Health Case Competition (UGHCC) 2019 was a resounding success.

The competition was restarted in 2019 and saw sixteen Teams of 3-6 individuals competing in the preliminary round with 5 teams advancing to the finals.

The theme for this year’s competition was centred around Climate Change, specifically the Droughts in Kenya and its health and socioeconomic impacts on the country’s populace.

The scope of this year’s competition expanded to include poster and video categories in addition to the PowerPoint Slide presentations to provide more variety to an already exciting case competition.

The Finale Evening was held the 30th of August at the Melbourne School of Design with roughly fifty audience members joining us to witness the finalists presenting their cases before a panel of multidisciplinary judges comprising of Professor Phil Batterham, Mr Matiu Bush and Mr Hayden Burch,

experts in various different fields of specialisation. The catering after the presentations provided a forum for the judges, participants and audience members to socialise and to continue discussing ideas raised about the topic of climate change during the evening.

All participants came away from the competition having further developed their research and teamwork skills and a new knowledge of and interest in how climate change and drought in particular, can affect the health of a population.

We thank the UGHCC Organising Committee (Jasmine Davis, Yiming Wei, Maggie Tan, Nicholas Cheng and Alyssa Gautama) for their tireless efforts and attention to detail over the five months that UGHCC 2019 was prepared and delivered extremely successfully.

We look forward to seeing how UGHCC will continue to grow and develop in the years to come.

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UGHCC:Climate Change

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Directors: Amanda HettiarachchiMae Chow

Marketing and Media Officer:Alyssa Gautama

Sponsorships and Logistics Officers: Maggie TanNicholas Cheng

Project Officers: Jasmine Davis, Yiming Wei

MUHIPrograms

UGHCC

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2019 Financial Report

2019 has been a financially successful year for MUHI.

Our main aim for 2019 was to continue taking steps towards making MUHI a financially independent organisation, as well as an organisation that abides to accounting standards. I am pleased to announce that in 2019 MUHI has taken major strides towards this goal, having achieved its funding target and redeveloped its accounting methods to abide by standards.

This impressive financial performance could not have been possible without the remarkable way in which our programs have managed themselves financially. Furthermore, this success has allowed MUHI to grow its local and global programs and increased its reach into different communities. We hope to build on our achievements in 2019 as we progress into a new year, towards funding programs that make meaningful impacts and becoming a self-sufficient NFP organisation.

MUHI continues to rely on the generous support of commercial partners and community philanthropic grants to continue our work, and we are incredibly thankful to have received the following donations over the past year:

$5000 from the University of Melbourne to Kenyan Village Medical Education through the Student engagement Grant

$2600 in total from the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne to:• Global Health Mentoring Program (GHMP)• Student Welfare Outreach Team (SWOT)• Australia World Health Organisation Conference (AusWHO)

Rory Zhang

Treasurer 2019

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MUHI in 2020

As we enter ten years of MUHI, it is incredible to think about how a small startup organization has transformed into a charity running multiple programs with reach across Victoria and the globe. The strength of MUHI comes from its dedicated volunteer base and their passion to create events that foster learning, growth and passion amongst all its participants.

MUHI’s programs continue to broaden their outreach and identify methods of more effectively delivering their products. In 2020, we hope to uphold and grow the organization in relation to its:

SustainabilityContinuing to work on our operational efficiency to consolidate the functionality of MUHI internally, providing a platform for volunteers to continue their great work;

ConnectivityNurturing and developing MUHI’s connections, both internally and externally with other organizations, to enable ongoing innovation amongst its programs;

Engagement and EmpowermentInvesting in the members and participants of MUHI programs, our most powerful assets, is essential to facilitate the growth of the next generation of global leaders.

Thanks to everyone who has helped allow 2019 to be an incredible year for MUHI. We are so excited to see what is in store for 2020 as we continue to strive for health equity.

Vithoo Sivanathan

Incoming President 2020

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Executive Team

Abbie is currently in her third year of the Doctor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne after completing her Bachelor of Biomedicine majoring in Immunology.

She has volunteered with MUHI for five years in its operational division and in that time has worked on various projects with the goal of improving organisational efficiency. Over the years, she has seen the significant impact that MUHI has had in the community and is proud of all that it has achieved. In her spare time, she enjoys playing with her dog, chipping away at her running PBs and disappearing with a good book.

PresidentAbbie Kanagarajah

Ronald is kickstarting his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne after completing his Bachelor of Biomedicine majoring in genetics.

He first joined MUHI in 2017 after participating in the AusWHO conference as a delegate, and was impressed by the outreach and diversity of our programs. Throughout his two years of involvement, Ronald has taken the position of Public Lecture manager, AusWHO co-covenor, and officer of both the marketing and UGHCC team. He is always excited to push the organisation to new heights and work alongside teams of inspiring and passionate members.

Outside of MUHI, Ronald works as a tutor and a resident assistant, and volunteers at a laboratory regarding malarial drug resistance. He is also a full-time House MD fan and a proud advocate of his terrible puns.

Program DirectorRonald Chen

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Rory joined MUHI in 2017 because he was impressed with the breadth and depth of the programs that MUHI organised. He is in his first year of Doctor of Medicine after finishing a Bachelor of Science majoring in Informatics.

In his spare time, he can be found in the kitchen cooking or in front of a computer writing cool machine learning algorithms.

Casey is currently completing her third year in Doctor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne after majoring in Human Anatomy during her Bachelor of Biomedicine degree.

She first joined MUHI in 2017, setting foot in the Global Health Mentoring Program, and later adopted the role of GHMP Program Manager in 2018. Having developed a passion for global health over the years as a postgraduate student, her involvement in MUHI as well as other student organisations aims to inspire her peers to also pursue and develop their interests. Outside of MUHI, she is also a tutor, a major foodie and travel lover.

Program DirectorCasey Fung

TreasurerRory Zhang

Norine originally joined MUHI in 2015 in order to give back after attending SWOT Week herself as a student.

An interesting memory she has from MUHI is suiting up to intimidate interviewees during SWOT tutor interviews. In her spare time, she can be found dodging traffic on her motorbike and avoiding dogs.

Vithoo is currently completing his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne. In his time in MUHI, he has been apart of the internal teams providing support for the amazing and diverse programs MUHI runs.

He spends his free time playing sport, watching TV shows, or listening to political/sports commentary.

SecretaryVithoo Sivanathan

Operations DirectorNorine Ma

ANNUAL REPORT 2019