International Outreach Initiative Soars

December 8, 2007 – While the annual meeting features the latest discoveries at the forefront of research and practice, many areas of the world lack access to basic medical care, much less an entire conference of medical experts. According to the World Health Organization, while the Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa feature roughly the same share of the world population (14 and 11 percent, respectively), the Americas contain 42 percent of the world’s health workers, while Sub-Saharan Africa only holds 3 percent. The disparity becomes greater when considering that Sub-Saharan Africa bears 24 percent of the world’s “burden of disease.

As ASH increases its efforts to assist hematologists in poorer areas of the world, the International Outreach Initiative (IOI), which distributes ASH educational materials to hematology-related institutions in developing countries, remains at the core of ASH’s international outreach programs. The IOI was implemented in 1999 with a philosophy to be simple, generous, and effective by offering hematologists at selected institutions access to a wealth of educational materials, including a CD-ROM containing a searchable database of the most recent ASH abstracts; a copy of Hematology, the ASH Education Program Book; a DVD-ROM featuring the audio-visual presentation of the education sessions as well as the special lectures from the most recent annual meeting; a copy of the ASH Self-Assessment Program; and an online subscription to Blood.

"IOI features what ASH can do best: education," remarks Dr. Charlotte Niemeyer, Chair of the International Members Committee (IMC), which oversees ASH’s international outreach efforts. "Every hematologist in the world knows ASH and its teaching mission, so this is the most valuable of the outreach programs. Its effects are tremendous and cannot be overestimated."

Recognizing the importance of the program, the IMC worked with ASH staff to increase the scope and breadth of the program. An intensive marketing campaign doubled participation in the program in 2007, and the IMC recently approved a more expansive definition of what constitutes a "developing" country. Beginning in 2008, participants can also elect to receive DVD-ROMs from the most recent State-of-the-Art Symposium and Highlights of ASH.

The continuing success of the IOI depends on the willingness of ASH members to participate by spreading the word about the program. Ways to become involved include recommending colleagues at institutions in developing countries to be notified about the program, disseminating marketing materials at meetings―especially international conferences, and encouraging colleagues at institutions in developing countries to apply. Through such grassroots participation, hematologists can create a global network to prevent, treat, and cure blood diseases worldwide.

For more information on how to participate in the IOI, as well as ASH’s other international outreach programs, visit the HVO booth, #2543, located across from the ASH booth.

This article originally appeared in the December 8, 2007, issue of ASH News Daily.