The National Library of Medicine, the world’s largest medical library and a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will open a new interactive exhibition, “Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health” with a special program Wednesday, April 16th, 10:00-11:00 AM in Lister Hill Auditorium, Building 38A, on the NIH campus in Bethesda. The exhibition opens to the public April 17th. “Against the Odds” presents stories as varied as the public health problems posed by Hurricane Katrina to a successful campaign for oral rehydration in Bangladesh, from “barefoot doctors” in China, to the model health center in South Africa, which inspired the community health center movement in the U.S. Throughout, harnessing the best of 21st century technology, engaging text and graphics, and interesting objects, “Against the Odds” focuses on how individuals and communities, in collaboration with scientists, advocates, governments and international organizations, have made and are making a difference in the health of people around the globe. The opening program will feature persons whose stories appear in the exhibition, such as: Dr. Victoria Cargill, Director of Clinical Studies and Director of Minority Research of the NIH Office of AIDS Research, Bethesda, Maryland, and a respected AIDS clinician in Washington, DC; Dr. Jack Geiger, Brooklyn, New York, a founding member and Past President of Physicians for Human Rights, and the architect of the community health center network in the United States; and Jeanne White Ginder, Leesburg, Florida, mother of the late Ryan White, and an advocate for people living with HIV and AIDS. The session will also feature a panel of young activists. They are: Gyawu Mahama, Washington, DC and Peachtree City, Georgia. An undergraduate at the George Washington University, pursuing a double major in international affairs and global public health, Mr. Mahama is an active member of the GW chapter of the Student Global AIDS Campaign (SGAC). He has participated in World AIDS Day demonstrations, and his chapter of SGAC helped provide free oral HIV testing to GW students; Niko and Theo Milonopoulos, Palo Alto, California. These brothers, students at Stanford University, founded Kidz Voice-LA and Vox Populi after a series of shootings in their hometown, North Hollywood. They encourage young people to get involved in the prevention of gun violence, have led marches and rallies, and have testified at legislative hearings; Michael Tees, M.D., M.P.H. (May 2008), New Orleans, Louisiana. Michael co-founded the Tulane University chapter of Student Physicians for Social Responsibility during his first year of medical school, in 2004. The group educates students and the local community about environmental health issues. After Hurricane Katrina, the organization maintained its educational mission and continued its community-based emphasis by working with local groups. One such project, Releaf New Orleans, involved planting trees in neighborhoods of New Orleans devastated by the storm; and Tanya Wansom, Ann Arbor, Michigan. As a medical student at the University of Michigan and a member of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), Ms. Wansom has trained future physicians to educate middle and high school students about HIV/AIDS.

For more information, visit the press release at
http://www.nih.gov/news/health/apr2008/nlm-14.htm
and the exhibition web site at
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/againsttheodds/introduction.html