IGEE at Yonsei University

Yonsei Institute for Global Health (YIGH) was founded in October, 2016 in order to inherit the spirit of Gwang Hye-won ∙ Jejung-won, established by Dr. Allen in 1885, to expand the role of social contribution to fulfill the mission of the Yonsei University Health System, and to effectively and systematically operate the global health care development project. 

YIGH aims to practice and spread the mission of Yonsei University Health System, “With the love of God, free humankind from disease and suffering,” and has five organizations under it: Medical Mission Center, Severance Academy, Center for Global Development, Center for Health & Unification of Korea, and Global Medical Education Development Project Group.

· Medical Mission Center

The overseas medical missions of YUHS began after concluding an agreement for academic exchange with The Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences in 1993, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Dr. Avison’s visit to Korea, who is the founder of Yonsei University Medical School, and establishing Yonsei Friendship Hospital in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in 1994. Following this, the Medical Mission Center was established in 2001 in order to fulfill the vision of YUHS to “become a medical missionary institution that practices love by spreading the gospel and medical care to the medically underprivileged regions of the world.” 

Since then, the Medical Mission Center has been operating programs such as the Avison International Fellowship, Project Avison 10x10, and the Yonsei Global Health Leadership Course to foster medical staff in countries with low medical benefits. Also, we operate a program to support alumni missionaries working in various parts of the world, and dispatch missionaries from YUHS to Tanzania and Kenya. Every November, we hold the Medical Missionary Month with faculties’ participation. In addition, we operate the Severance One Family Project, which integrates and connects everyone who participated in the medical mission programs into one network of Severance.

· Center for Health and Unification of Korea

The Center for Health & Unification of Korea was established in 2014 to develop health and medical capabilities in preparation for unification. We aim to carry out research, education, and external cooperation projects in the general health and medical fields to improve the overall wellbeing of North and South Koreans before and after the unification of the Korean Peninsula.

As part of the research and education projects related to North Korean health and medical care, we hold a monthly seminar on unification health care, and operate a variety of programs such as student planning group activities, tours of the DMZ and Panmunjom, and Night of Unification. We also hold a fund-raising event for Yonsei unification donations, which promote the opening of unification-related courses in each college, a project to support medical fluid to North Korea, and omnibus lecture projects. In the future, we plan to work with Yeouido Full Gospel Church to promote the establishment of Pyongyang Heart Hospital.

· Center for Global Development

The Center for Global Development was established in 2017 with the mission of “contributing to improving global health inequality and achieving universal health guarantee through international cooperation activities to accomplish the social values of Yonsei University Health System.” We professionally support international development cooperation projects carried out within YUHS in order to realize our vision of education, research, participation, and cooperation. We also implement projects to support international health experts and enhance international health development project capabilities to spread awareness throughout faculties.

The Center for Global Development is an organization that systematically operates official development assistance (ODA) activities procured by government agencies such as KOICA and EDCF, companies, and public institutions. We are contributing to the international community by transferring the experiences and knowledge accumulated by medical centers to the world through medical and educational projects in developing countries. In addition, we look forward to making more contributions to accomplish the values of YUHS by actively participating in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

· Global Medical Education Development Working Group

The Global Medical Education Development Working Group was founded in 2019 as Prof. Shinki Ahn became the project manager of the New Southern and New Northern Higher Education Innovation Projects procured by KOICA. They are both long-term projects: Education and Research Empowerment at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2021-2025 / 9.68 million dollars), and the capacity-building project of Tashkent Pediatric Medical Institute in Uzbekistan (2022-2026 / 5 million dollars). Through this project, we expect not only to raise the level of medical education in these communities, but also to improve the education system of Yonsei University’s College of Medicine.

· Severance Academy

The Yonsei University Health System, one of the best medical institutions in Korea, provides world-class medical services and quality, and is equipped with professional and systematic education programs and supporting systems, as well as state-of-the-art facilities and technologies. Severance Academy was established in 2013 to deliver the outstanding medical technology and advanced treatment experience of YUHS to international medical staff. We manage the Severance International Fellowship (SIF) program where top-notch health care professionals share high-level knowledge and skills with these staff members. In particular, the SIF Prime Course is a one-month program designed to provide international medical staff with permission for limited hands-on medical practice during clinical fellowship by arranging intensive training on the Korean healthcare and hospital systems, clinical research accounting methodology, Korean culture, and Korean language.

We are in charge of administrative support for the training of more than 300 international medical staff per year, and we also provide medical training programs to fellows from the Middle East, Mongolia and Kazakhstan in accordance with agreement between countries. More than 1660 people have received training at Severance since 2014, and we will continue to contribute to the accomplishment of Yonsei University Health System’s mission through the ongoing training of international medical staff.