KazMSA LC AMU:
The Local Committee of the Kazakh Medical Students’ Association (KazMSA) was officially established at Astana Medical University (AMU) in 2013. This marked a significant milestone in the development of student self-governance and professional growth for future doctors, providing students with the opportunity to broaden their horizons, establish international connections, and participate in global health initiatives.
The Kazakhstan Medical Youth Association (Kazakh: Қазақстан медицина жастарының ұйымы, Qazaqstan medıtsına jastarynyń uyımı; Russian: Казахстанская организация медицинской молодежи), founded in 2014, is an organization of medical students, including members from nine medical educational institutions across the country. KazMSA is a full member of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA). There are nine medical educational institutions in Kazakhstan:
1. Astana Medical University
2. Karaganda State Medical University
3. S.D. Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University
4. Semey State Medical University
5. West Kazakhstan State Medical University named after M. Ospanov
6. Kazakhstan-Russian Medical University
7. Ahmet Yassawi University
All IFMSA activities are related to one of the six standing committees:
• Standing Committee on Medical Education (SCOME)
• Standing Committee on Professional Exchange (SCOPE)
• Standing Committee on Research Exchange (SCORE)
• Standing Committee on Public Health (SCOPH)
• Standing Committee on Sexual and Reproductive Health, including HIV/AIDS (SCORA)
• Standing Committee on Human Rights and Peace (SCORP)
Goals of the Association:
1. The association pursues its goals without political, religious, social, racial, national, sexual, or any other form of discrimination.
2. The association promotes humanitarian ideals among medical students and strives to contribute to the formation of responsible future physicians.
3. The association represents the interests of medical students and facilitates the effective use of future opportunities in the modern medical environment, organizing cultural, environmental, entertainment, sports, scientific, and educational activities.
4. Consolidation and coordination of medical students of Kazakhstan – members of the association – to enhance the social prestige of the medical profession, as well as medical and pharmaceutical workers of Kazakhstan.
5. Participation in the development of the young generation of specialists in all fields of medicine.
6. Collaboration with students and young doctors from other countries and associations.
7. Assistance to medical students and young doctors in gaining practical experience and theoretical medical knowledge worldwide.
8. Support in creating a modern Kazakhstan with an effective national healthcare system and medical education.
9. Implementation of scientific, educational, and training programs and projects for youth as established by current legislation.
10. Cooperation with universities, scientific institutions of Kazakhstan, and abroad.
11. Promotion of humanism and medical ethics.
12. Advocacy of healthy lifestyle principles among youth.
History of organisation:
KazMSA has its roots in IFMSA. The International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) was one of many international student organizations founded shortly after the end of World War II. The first meeting establishing the federation took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, in May 1951. The first members of this new organization included the United Kingdom, Austria, the Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Denmark. The first IFMSA General Assembly was held in London in July 1952, attended by thirty participants from ten countries.
Starting with exclusively European founding organizations, the federation has since expanded and now includes 136 members worldwide.
IFMSA has always focused on student mobility and exchanges, as well as organizing conferences and workshops. The first conferences, known as International Student Clinical Conferences, were highly successful in the 1950s. Over the years, various summer schools were organized, beginning in 1963 in Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Scandinavia. Other conferences addressed issues such as medical education, pharmaceuticals, AIDS, and HIV. In the 1960s, projects were initiated to assist less fortunate students in developing countries, such as the Book Aid project, which aimed to send medical books from wealthier countries, and the Equipment Appeal project, which facilitated the donation of surplus medical equipment to these countries.
In the 1970s, medical students saw the need to decentralize IFMSA. To this end, IFMSA facilitated the creation of regional medical student organizations in Africa and Asia. Subsequently, vice presidents were elected for six regions in support of regionalization, but this structure was abolished after a few years.
In the early 1980s, IFMSA issued several resolutions and declarations on topics such as medical education, nuclear war prevention, and primary healthcare. In the late 1980s, the initiative to organize projects that could bring change at the local level emerged, leading to the concept of the “Village Project” after collaboration with other international student organizations. The Leadership Training Program, which began in 1986 in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), remains active today.
Official relations with WHO began in 1969, when cooperation led to the organization of a symposium on “Programmed Learning in Medical Education,” as well as programs on immunology and tropical medicine. In subsequent years, IFMSA and WHO worked together to organize various workshops and training programs. IFMSA has been cooperating with UNESCO since 1971. Since 2007, IFMSA has been an official organization supporting the HIFA2015 (Healthcare Information for All by 2015) initiative.
Our Activities:
The main activities of our organization include student exchanges and various projects. Every year, about 14,000 medical students worldwide, including in Kazakhstan, participate in international student exchanges, both professional and academic (research-based). KazMSA organizes projects, programs, seminars, and workshops on public health, medical education, reproductive health, human rights, and peace. Our mission is to promote and advance medicine worldwide.
