Host Countries

Host Country Committee

The focus of the Committee is to look into specific issues pertaining to Host Countries. This includes perspectives like the responsibility to study the impact of travel into such regions, to conduct research and develop strategies to protect local destination communities from the negative impact of tourism and explore the interaction between tourism growth and travel health

The Committee is open to suggestions from ISTM members and we would be happy to share our ideas with other ISTM Committees like Professional Training and Education and Migration Medicine Committee. We also invite members to join the this Committee should you feel strongly about the specific issues and would be interested to act as sentinels, raise awareness regarding HCC activities and offer some of your time and expertise.

The Committee consists of the following members:

Assunta Marcolongo, Canada (chair) assunta@iamat.org

Santanu Chatterjee, India sanchat@vsnl.com

Sheila Hall, Scotland sckhall@trectravelhealth.co.uk

Trish Batchelor, Australia tbatchelor@iprimus.com.au

Albie de Frey, South Africa wtmc@global.co.za

Irmgard Bauer, Australia irmgard.bauer@jcu.edu.au

Michel Rey, France mreysmv@easynet.fr

Mikio Kimura, Japan kimumiki@nih.go.jp

Martin Haditsch, Austria martin.haditsch@elisabethinen.or.at

Mario Masana Wilson, Argentina mariomasana@yahoo.com.ar

Buddha Basnyat, Nepal nic@naxal.wlink.com.np

Nebojsa Nikolic, Croatia travel-medicina@ri.htnet.hr

Marco Foltran, Brazil mfoltran@uol.com.br

Zsuzsanna Jelinek, Hungary jelinekzs@oek.antsz.hu

The HCC Charter:

The Host Country Committee has responsibility for promoting the development of travel medicine and the ISTM among countries traditionally considered host countries
The Host Country Committee is charged with identifying doctors or clinics currently practicing travel medicine within host countries
The Host Country Committee is charged with developing and deploying strategies for increasing membership of the ISTM within "host countries"
The Host Country Committee is charged with developing and proposing initiatives of interest to ISTM members or potential ISTM members practicing in "host countries"

Past Activities:

Raising awareness on Host Country issues and encourage networking among interested members at regional and international Meetings
a. Poster at the CISTM 7 Innsbruck - "Effect of Tourism on Host Countries": This poster focuses on the aims and objectives of the Committee and gives us some insights into what the Group considers are important issues for our members.
b. IPPG exhibition at the CISTM 7 Innsbruck - This highlights the condition of the porters in Nepal and was big attraction at this meeting.
Linz Initiative : Martin Haditsch has been the key person in sponsoring 8 people( from Belarus, Czech Republic, Turkey, Peru, Cuba and Hungary ) to attend the CISTM 7 and CISTM 9, as part of this initiative. We hope to encourage more such efforts in assisting our colleagues who are interested to join our travel health community
Responsible Traveller Document : This document provides some thoughts on responsibility of the Traveller when visiting a country with a different culture and custom and serves as a guide for responsible behaviour. The first copy was in English and is available in a four-page layout and also in a single abridged form. This has now been translated into German, Japanese, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Italian and Hungarian languages. Enquiries for copies can be directed to the Committee Chair and Co -Chair and are also available with the ISTM Secretariat. This document can be used with due permission for distribution among travelers, health and tourism authorities.

Future activities:

Designing a Leaflet for awarenes of Sexual Tourism : There has been concern about the increasing number of tourists returning to Europe from SE Asia with STD’s. Dr Gotuzzo has performed studies on "Bricheros" in Cuzco- surveys of travellers coming to Peru as well as their sexual behavior. Sheila Hall is keen to design an awareness leaflet. One of the issues is to identify what is relevant for the traveller intending to be on holiday in SEAsia .
Exploring various options to encourage the distribution and promotion of the Responsible Traveller document.
Training opportunities for Health Professionals in Host Countries : The idea has been that the issues facing local doctors overseas are quite different - different expectations from the Western patient, language issues, different prescribing methods, medical education needs tuned with recent travel medicine trends. The process would be to
(a) Identifying regions and possible place

(b) Ensuring the perceived need for further training

(c) Formulating a suitable programme - one or two days
Present member involved in activities of interest:
a) Irmgard Bauer: Doing research on health impact of the porters in Peru on the INCA trail and is looking for networking links with similar groups

b) Prof Michel Rey: Working in Senegal on how Mass tourism can contribute to development in Host Countries.

c) N. Nikolic : He is working on Maritime Health and is currently Vice President IMHA ( International Maritime Health Association)

d) Sheila Hall : Will give a Talk at the NECTM Edinburgh 2006 on Respect for environment and local culture" and networking on the Committee’s behalf with Tourism Concern and other related NGOs.

e) Assunta Marcolongo : As President of the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers, she has been in the forefront of promoting travel health among travelers

f) Martin Haditsch : He organizes the LINZ Travel Medicine meeting in Austria every year in March and encourages participation from countries in Eastern Europe on travel health

g) Mario Masana Wilson : He is initiating travel health activities in South America as President of SLAMVI.

h) Mikio Kimura : Organises travel health initiatives in Japan and works actively amongst the travel and tourism authorities.

i) Buddha Basynat : Our resource on High Altitude medicine and is currently doing studies on multidrug resistant typhoid in Nepal.

j) Trish Batchelor : Manages a project for International Porter Protection Group in Nepal and runs a rescue post for porters including a porter shelter, in the Gokyo Valley of the Everest region of Nepal.

k) Santanu Chatterjee : Involved with the first Studies on travelers diarrhoea and malaria chemoprophylaxis in India and has major interests on travel impact in host countries. Resource in travel health issues for the Indian subcontinent.