Can going on an exchange program prepare medical students for tomorrow’s health challenges? Is it really worth it to explore health systems in  different cultural and social settings? Is it necessary to learn more about Global Health challenges while studying medicine?There is no doubt that society in general is becoming increasingly globalized, and this is seen through increased international travel.

Health officials from across China visited the University of Birmingham to learn more about how British medical staff deliver healthcare to patients. A group of 25 senior officials from departments at the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) and other medical institutions across 10 provinces and cities travelled to the University. Their visit was part of a project supported by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office that gave health professionals the opportunity to learn about the UK’s system of healthcare delivery.

As health care costs in the United States rise, an increasing number of Americans are going overseas for elective procedures, or are at least considering that possibility. In response to an article in The New York Times on Sunday about an American who went to Belgium to have his hip replaced because his insurer in the United States would not cover the procedure, hundreds of readers said they would be willing to follow that path.

He urged support of Indian diaspora in promoting India as a hub of innovation, qualified medical experts, and R & D to make the country a great soft power. There is need for exchange of medical professionals among countries, he opined.

As an arm of Turkish soft power and growing regional influence, civil society organisations and doctors are leading the way to make a measurable impact on the ground in Africa.

The recent arrival of a Chinese navy hospital ship...to treat the needy in Jamaica flew mainly below the radar of mainstream American media. But the “Peace Ark” mission highlights the delicate balance China is seeking to strike as it tries to show off its growing global military capability and boost its influence in regions once exclusively dominated by the U.S. military, without triggering suspicion and alarm in Washington and elsewhere.

Dozens of doctors and nurses fanned out from a Chinese navy hospital ship to treat poor Jamaicans as part of a global humanitarian mission to portray China’s rapidly growing military as a responsible power. The aim of the operation...is to soften the image of China’s 2.3 million-member military and boost its ties with other nations’ armed forces.

A Chinese navy hospital ship called the Peace Ark sailed on Friday into Havana Bay in Cuba, reflecting good relations between the communist allies and China's expanding global presence.