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What Global Health Volunteers Learn From the World’s Nurses blog costa rica ecuador fimrc fimrc programs ghvp global health volunteer program maternal & child health medical professional medical student nursing peru primary care professional development public health summer international health fellowship travel travel nursing uganda volunteer volunteer experience May 15, 2026

712 women die every day from preventable pregnancy-related causes. Most of them never saw a doctor. Many of them saw a nurse — or saw no one at all.

In most health systems, nurses are the first point of contact — the ones who assess, triage, educate, comfort, and follow up. In low-resource communit...

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This Mother’s Day, Meet The Women FIMRC Volunteers Show Up For blog community stories costa rica ecuador fimrc ghvp global health volunteer program health equity maternal & child health medical professional medical student peru professional development public health travel uganda volunteer volunteer experience May 08, 2026

There's a version of Mother's Day that doesn't make it onto greeting cards.

It looks like a woman in Huancayo walking two hours on a mountain trail to reach the nearest health post. A mother in Bududa navigating childbirth in a facility that lacks the basic equipment her situation demands. A first-...

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The Simplest Tool in Global Health and Why Volunteers Still Have to Fight For It blog costa rica ecuador fimrc fimrc programs ghvp global health global health volunteer program medical professional medical student nursing peru primary care professional development public health travel uganda volunteer volunteer experience May 01, 2026

Soap and water. That's it.

Of all the interventions in public health, handwashing consistently ranks among the most effective at preventing infectious disease — respiratory illness, diarrhea, healthcare-associated infections, even maternal sepsis. It costs almost nothing. It requires no prescriptio...

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Global Health Volunteering for Malaria Prevention | World Malaria Day blog careers in global health costa rica ecuador fimrc fimrc programs global health malaria medical professional medical student neglected tropical diseases peru professional development public health travel uganda volunteer Apr 24, 2026

Every year on April 25, World Malaria Day highlights the global fight against one of the world’s oldest and deadliest diseases.

For those interested in global health volunteering, it also raises an important question:
how can individuals contribute to malaria prevention in real communities?

This y...

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National Volunteer Week: Make a Global Impact Through International Health Volunteering blog careers in global health costa rica ecuador fimrc ghvp global health volunteer program medical professional medical student peru professional development public health travel uganda volunteer volunteer experience Apr 24, 2026

Every year, National Volunteer Week celebrates the power of service and the individuals who create meaningful change in their communities.

But for those looking to take their impact even further, volunteering abroad offers something deeper: the opportunity to support underserved communities while g...

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Volunteering in Costa Rica During Juan Santamaria Day: A Global Health Experience blog costa rica fimrc fimrc programs ghvp global health global health volunteer program medical professional medical student professional development public health travel volunteer volunteer experience Apr 10, 2026

Every April 11, Costa Rica comes alive with national pride, honoring Juan Santamaría—a young hero whose bravery helped protect the country’s sovereignty in 1856.

For participants in FIMRC’s Global Health Volunteer Program (GHVP), this is more than a cultural moment—it’s a unique opportunity to expe...

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From Classroom to Clinic: How SIFH in Uganda Transformed a Healthcare Student blog careers in global health clinical observations community stories fimrc fimrc programs global health volunteer program medical professional medical rotation program medical student peru professional development public health sihf summer international health fellowship travel uganda volunteer experience Feb 13, 2026

Understanding global health takes more than lectures and textbooks. It requires immersion, humility, and real-world experience.

For Tea Sweeney, a Global Public Health and Africana Studies student at Binghamton University, the Summer International Health Fellowship (SIFH) in Bududa, Uganda became t...

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Fighting Childhood Anemia in Peru: How Medical Volunteers Transform Lives in Huancayo blog community stories fimrc fimrc partnerships fimrc programs global health volunteer program maternal & child health medical student peru professional development project huancayo public health summer international health fellowship travel volunteer Jan 23, 2026

Nestled high in the Peruvian Andes, Huancayo faces a silent health crisis affecting its youngest residents. Nearly half of all children under five in the Junín region struggle with anemia—a preventable condition that threatens their development, education, and future.

But there's hope. Global healt...

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What Volunteering Abroad Really Looks Like: Inside FIMRC’s Global Health Volunteer Program (GHVP) blog costa rica ecuador fimrc ghvp global health global health volunteer program graduate student high school student medical professional medical student peru public health scholars student explorer program travel volunteer volunteer experience Nov 28, 2025

If you’re a premed, nursing, PA, public health, or healthcare-curious student, you’ve probably wondered:

  • What does volunteering abroad actually look like?
  • Is the experience meaningful and ethical?
  • Will I get real clinical exposure or just shadowing?
  • Do I need previous medical experience?
  • Will...
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Volunteering Abroad in Ecuador: Kiana Parkins’ Global Health Journey with FIMRC blog ecuador fimrc ghvp global health global health volunteer program medical professional nursing project anconcito public health travel volunteer experience Oct 31, 2025

Kiana Parkins, a registered nurse and graduate student in public health, traveled from the U.S. to Ecuador seeking a hands-on understanding of global health. What she found in the coastal town of Anconcito was a life-changing lesson in resilience, community, and compassion.

“I came to Ecuador expec...

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