Research & Service

On Tuesday, March 9, the International Health Organization (IHO), one of the CUMC community’s most active student organizations, successfully hosted an International Meet and Greet Dinner. Held in the River View Lounge of the Hammer Health Sciences Building, the reception afforded students an intimate setting in which to interact with a group of Columbia-affiliated doctors engaged in vital projects around the globe.

Faculty members who shared their experiences included, among others, Dr. Sonia Sachs, Health Coordinator for the Earth Institute’s Millennium Villages Project, Dr Waffa El-Sadr, director of the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP) at the Mailman School, and Dr Stephen Nicholas, professor of Clinical of Pediatrics, College of Physicians & Surgeons.

The evening event was structured in a manner that effectively facilitated one-on-one conversations, with the doctors joining students at a number of small tables throughout the room. Participating students from the Mailman School, the Nursing School, and P&S were able to learn in great detail about work being performed internationally by Columbia faculty.

Faculty also engaged in discussions about their career paths, providing students with professional insights and information on significant opportunities to contribute their talents overseas. Several of the faculty members who have been working on the ground in Haiti also discussed their experiences in helping to address the recent disaster.   

The evening’s main address was given by Dr. Nicholas, who presented some of his experiences overseas with the Columbia University International Family AIDS Program. Dr. Nicholas highlighted the inherent dilemma in providing vital short-term assistance to needy populations abroad. Such assistance, he stressed, may help in the near term and prove rewarding to care providers, yet fails to consider the long-term effects on communities when projects are completed and assistance withdrawn. Dr. Nicholas urged the students and aid community and event participants to adopt more effective, long-term perspectives.