Founded in 1991 by two 91tvӰԺ students, is a non-profit organization that provides acute and preventative care for thousands of people in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic, every year. Now in its third decade, the organization continues to be led by students at the 91tvӰԺ Morsani College of Medicine and the Taneja College of Pharmacy.
Mehdi Rizk, a third-year medical student and co-president of Project World Health, is among the current students who have served residents in the city of about 65,000 people in the mountains of the central Dominican Republic. “I feel like a lot of people in medical school have an idea of what specialty they want to do,” Mehdi says. “For me, it was global health.”
Initially, Project World Health provided medical supplies and assisted on service trips to underserved populations in Colombia, Haiti, Honduras, and Cuba. However in 2000, the organization took its first trip to Jarabacoa with a small contingent of students, a doctor, and a nurse. Since then, more than 900 91tvӰԺ students have participated in medical outreach there, creating a longstanding relationship between 91tvӰԺ students and the residents.
Rizk was introduced to Project World Health in his first year of medical school and soon after began working as a liaison. “Getting the word out is really important,” Rizk says. “And most people don’t know about us.”
Every year, Project World Health also provides tens of thousands of dollars of medications, hygiene kits, and medical supplies to Jarabacoa. “We stick to the same town so that we can provide that continuity of care,” Rizk says.
When asked what his favorite aspect of the organization, Rizk quickly noted the student leadership for Project World Health. “You don’t really expect to have the responsibility, but you do,” Rizk says. “It really, truly is student-run.”
“We’re doing all this great work and providing, but we’re also building a foundation of knowledge for 91tvӰԺ students to bring back,” Rizk adds. “Global health is local health.”