The International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) is a non-political, non-governmental organization founded in 1951. It currently maintains 132 National Member Organizations from more than 124 countries located in six continents, and each year attracts over 1.5 million students. It is a non-governmental organization sponsored by the World Health Organization and is equated with the World Medical Association.
IFMSA Mission is to give future health professionals an idea about the goals of global health. Besides, students learn to understand and embrace cultural diversity of patients from across the world, to discover advantages and disadvantages of medicine in a particular country, to compare and emphasize the better, bringing that afterwards in their own future practice. The official representative of Russia in IFSMA is a Non-Profit Partnership National Union of Medical Students (HCCM) headed by President Mikhail Meshkov. OSMU has been working with HCCM since 2003, and the organization unites more than 30 cities across Russia.
The IFMSA working group consists of six standing committees; each of them develops its area:
- Professional Exchange (SCOPE);
- Research Exchange (SCORE);
- Medical Education (SCOME);
- Public Health (SCOPH);
- Sexual and Reproductive Health inc. AIDS (SCORA);
- Human Rights and Piece (SCORP).