International primary care and the RCGP: the college's role in global health.

RCGP Junior International Committee: a global approach to primary care.

(JIC) was formed to harness the enthusiasm of early career GPs (Associates in Training [AiTs] and First5 ® GPs) for international health activities. The aim is to promote a global approach to primary care to better prepare a new generation for delivering general practice in an increasingly multicultural and interconnected world. The JIC is a subcommittee of the RCGP International Committee, wor...

Universal Access to Surgical Care and Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case for Surgical Systems Research; Comment on “Global Surgery – Informing National Strategies for Scaling Up Surgery in Sub-Saharan Africa”

National level experiences, lessons learnt from the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) era coupled with the academic evidence and proposals generated by the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery (LCoGS) together with the economic arguments and recommendations from the World Bank Group’s “Essential Surgery” Disease Control Priorities (DCP3) publication, provided the impetus for political commitment...

The future role of natural products in health care

For thousands of years, one of our many gifts from the Earth has been medicines to treat a myriad of ailments. In the developed world, approximately 25% of prescription products are derived from higher plants, and in the developing world, over 80% of the population relies on plants, in the form of traditional medicine, for their primary health care. In 2050, the Earth will have a population of ...

The Evolving Role of Physicians - Don’t Forget the Generalist Primary Care Providers; Comment on “Non-physician Clinicians in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Evolving Role of Physicians”

The editorial “Non-physician Clinicians in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Evolving Role of Physicians” by Eyal et al describes non-physician clinicians’ (NPC) need for mentorship and support from physicians. We emphasise the same need of support for front line generalist primary healthcare providers who carry out complex tasks yet may have an inadequate skill mix.

The Human Resources for Health Program in Rwanda: A Response to Recent Commentaries