UBC Branch for Global Surgical Care

10/17/2025

🌟 Student Spotlight: Ala Magzoub 🌟

Meet Ala, a medical graduate from the University of Gezira in Sudan and a first-year student in the Master of Global Surgical Care (MGSC) program. Currently completing her internship at the University of Beni-Suef in Egypt, Ala is deeply passionate about bridging global surgical disparities.

Her journey into global surgery began after reading the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery (2015), a moment she describes as an epiphany. Since then, she has served as the Africa Chapter Liaison for the Gender Equity Initiative in Global Surgery (GEIGS) and helped launch and chair the InciSioN Sudan chapter, while working alongside students and surgeons to promote safe, timely, and equitable access to surgical care.

Through the MGSC program, Ala is building on this foundation and developing the skills to advocate for surgical equity while continuing her clinical work and preparing for her board exams.

🌍 Learn more about Ala’s inspiring story at the link in our bio.

10/15/2025

🌍 Clean hands save lives: not just in the operating room, but everywhere. October 15 is Global Handwashing Day, a reminder that hand hygiene is one of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent infections and protect health.

💧 Let’s keep hands clean and communities healthy, because it all starts with good hygiene.

10/10/2025

❌ Myth: Disasters bring out the worst in human behaviour.
✅ Fact: The majority of people respond spontaneously and generously, showing solidarity even in the most challenging times.

🌍 Why it matters: In disaster-stricken areas, this solidarity is vital. Surgical teams often work with limited resources to deliver essential care. Organizations like Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have vast experience providing surgical care after natural disasters.

📚 Explore these issues in SURG 514: Surgical Care in Humanitarian Disaster Response, where students learn from global experts about disaster phases, surgical care essentials, and real-world humanitarian responses.

🔗 Learn more at globalsurgery.med.ubc.ca

10/09/2025

The Global Surgery Lab enthusiastically welcomes Dr. Malick Diallo as a visiting professor.

Please join us as he presents his work on Orthopedic Surgery in Burkina Faso!

This opportunity will be in-person only in Vancouver on Tuesday, October 14th.

10/03/2025

10/03/2025

🌍 Voices of Global Surgery 🌍

“If access to health care is considered a human right, who is considered human enough to have that right?” — Dr. Paul Farmer

Dr. Farmer was a physician, anthropologist, and humanitarian who dedicated his life to advancing health equity in underserved communities worldwide. As co-founder of Partners In Health, he transformed global health through a philosophy rooted in solidarity, justice, and humanity.

📚 Want to learn more about his life and vision? We recommend Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, which follows Dr. Farmer’s journey from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia, capturing his tireless belief that “the only real nation is humanity.”

✨ Explore this and more reading recommendations on our website: globalsurgery.med.ubc.ca/reading-recommendations/

🕊️ In Memoriam: Dr. Paul Farmer (1959–2022)

09/30/2025

September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day. This day honours and upholds Survivors and Intergenerational Survivors of the Indian Residential School system, and to commemorate those who didn’t return home.

🔗 Find events, information and wellness resources at and to learn more about Orange Shirt Day visit the links in our bio.

Photo by Chris Robert on Unsplash

09/26/2025

💡 Did you know?
Epidemics do not spontaneously occur after every disaster, and dead bodies do not cause catastrophic outbreaks of exotic diseases.

👉 Why it matters: The real key to preventing disease is improving sanitation and educating the public.

Learn more: https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/emergencies-myths-and-realities-in-disaster-situations

🌍 This is one of the many topics explored in our course SURG 514: Surgical Care in Humanitarian Disaster Response. Students get to learn directly from experienced global faculty about disaster phases, surgical care essentials, and real-world humanitarian responses!

📚 Interested in learning more about global health and surgery?
🔗 Learn more about our courses and programs at globalsurgery.med.ubc.ca

09/25/2025

🏥Reducing the global burden of injury is key to our work at CGS. We collaborate with local partners 🌎to improve trauma management and emergency preparedness🔥.
Want to know how?
Visit our website to see our programs👉 https://www.cglobalsurgery.com/
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🏥Réduire le fardeau mondial des blessures est au cœur de notre travail chez le CCM. Nous collaborons avec des partenaires locaux 🌎 afin d'améliorer la prise en charge des traumatismes et la préparation aux situations d'urgence🔥.
Vous souhaitez en savoir plus ?
Rendez-vous sur notre site web pour découvrir nos programmes
👉 https://www.cglobalsurgery.com/

09/23/2025

Come to our orientation on September 23, 2024 in ANGU 350 to see Dr Emilie Joos talk about her experience with MSF as an acute care surgeon!

09/19/2025

🍂 Read the latest updates from BGSC!

📰 The Fall Edition of the BGSC Newsletter is here! Stay informed on faculty and student achievements, recent graduates, exciting research, upcoming events, and new opportunities.

📬 Read now and subscribe via https://buff.ly/BeSZxqn

09/17/2025

A Canadian first: restoring sight with a patient’s own tooth 👁️🦷 https://bit.ly/46Iigq8

Dr. Greg Moloney, a clinical associate professor in UBC’s Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, made history this year by performing Canada’s first “tooth-in-eye” surgeries — a remarkable procedure that gives people who were once blind the chance to see again.

Several B.C. patients have now regained vision after undergoing the procedure with Dr. Moloney’s team at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital, operated by Providence Health Care. Dr. Moloney and one of his patients recently spoke with CNN about the life-changing surgery.

“It’s like watching people come out of a time capsule and reintroduce themselves to the world," Dr. Moloney told CNN. "It’s highly emotional for us.”

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