The Global Health & Humanitarian Medicine (GHHM) course is designed to give you the medical knowledge and skills required to work in low resource settings and humanitarian crisis contexts.
Organised by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), it is a part-time, online, blended learning course.
We will provide you with up-to-date teaching and guidance in:
- Tropical Medicine
- Global Health
- Public Health and Humanitarian Medicine
through contributions from clinicians and colleagues from academic institutions and international organisations across the globe.
The course will prepare you to take the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H) examination.
You can apply to the GHHM course if you are a medical doctor who:
- holds a primary medical qualification (MBBS, MB ChB or its equivalent)
- from a recognised medical school in any country
- and a minimum of two years of post-internship work experience.
While we welcome applications from qualified medical doctors from all countries, we prioritise applications from those who intend to work, or are already working in, low resource settings.
‘The GHHM course was not only an amazing learning experience, but also an inspiring one. I’ve benefited so much from the course during my professional journey after completing it, as there were a lot of topics that are not part of the standard curriculum in my country of origin.’
Applications
Applications are now open and closes 22 April 2024.
About GHHM
The course is part-time, running over 10 months, so you can fit studies around your work.
We ask that you attend our weekly live seminars and then complete additional work online in your own time.
Download the GHHM Course Prospectus for more information.
Affordability
Affordability is important to us. We've worked hard to make the GHHM course affordable for anyone hoping to join us.
Content
Our curriculum is written to directly reflect and complement the way doctors work in low resource settings.
We want our syllabus to be relevant, exciting and interesting! We use unique methods to teach our innovative syllabus.
We strongly believe that we can learn from each other, and we'll provide an environment where everyone can share their experiences and learn collaboratively.
‘GHHM was a key learning experience in my career. During the months I was part of the course, I eagerly waited every week to connect to the seminars. What I learned from the expert lecturers and my colleagues has had a tremendous impact in my day to day work in every setting I have been with MSF.’
Course details
The GHHM course will run from September to June, with approximately 37 weeks of teaching.
The weekly seminars run from:
- 18:00-20:00 GMT every Tuesday (for the GHHM UK course)
- 16:00 to 18:00 IST every Thursday (for the GHHM SA course)
You will be required to dedicate approximately two-and-a half hours every week to the online lecture webinar and a further 6-8 hours for self-directed learning and group activities.
The minimum requirement for course completion is:
- 70% attendance in the weekly webinars
- contribution to 70% of the online group activities
- completion of mock exam
- participation in the (minimum) 12 hours of basic microscopy and parasitology training.
More information
Download the GHHM Course Prospectus for a full breakdown of the course.
Read the FAQs page for more details.
We run the GHHM course with a small administrative team on a highly subsidised basis.
All course fees cover a percentage of the course costs with the balance covered by MSF.
We will supply an invoice and can provide letters to support funding applications.
GHHM course fees are informed by the World Bank income classification. The following amount should be paid as a one-time fee, either to MSF South Asia or to MSF UK, depending on your country of residence:
- £2,760 for students whose country of residence is in the European Economic Area or a High Income Country (HIC)
- £750 for students whose country of residence is in an Upper Middle Income Country (UMIC)
- £650 for students whose country of residence is in a Lower Middle Income Country (LMIC)
- £550 for students whose country of residence is in a Low Income Country (LIC)
The DTM&H examination fees are paid directly to the examining body. The examination is expected to be held online in June 2025.
More information
Download the GHHM Course Prospectus for a full breakdown of the course.
Read the FAQs page for more details.
The course is divided into 23 modules.
Each module will consist of the following –
- Weekly online lectures
- Lectures which can be viewed on our learning platform in your own time
- Group activities
- Short answer essay questions
- Self-directed learning exercises
- Extra reading material
- Weekly quiz delivered during the online webinar
- Parasitology app and extra resources
In addition to our weekly lectures, we also conduct three additional Saturday half-day teaching days and a two-day Revision Weekend closer to the DTM&H examination. Here is a list of our current modules:
- Bacterial Infections
- Bites, Stings and Poisoning
- Field Talks
- Fungal Infections
- Global Health
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus
- Humanitarian Crises – Complex humanitarian emergencies
- Malaria
- Sexual and Reproductive & Maternal Health
- Mental Health
- Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)
- Nutrition
- Other topics of tropical medicines
- Outbreaks
- Paediatrics
- Parasitic Infections
- Public Health
- Travel Medicine
- Tropical Dermatology
- Tropical Opthalmology
- Tuberculosis
- Vectors and Ectoparasites
- Viral Infections
More information
Download the GHHM Course Prospectus for a full breakdown of the course.
Read the FAQs page for more details.
Candidates must be:
- Registered medical practitioners:MBBS (or its equivalent)
- with at least two years of post-internship, clinical work experience
- and proficient in the English language.
Candidates are eligible to apply if they meet the above criteria and state their motivation to participate in the GHHM course.
A committee comprising the GHHM team and various academic partners make the final selection. Medical doctors with a demonstrable interest in tropical medicine with a humanitarian assistance background will be given priority.
The London-based course (GHHM UK) is available to medical doctors in Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
The Delhi-based course (GHHM South Asia) is available to medical doctors in Asia and Oceania.
This distribution will be made by GHHM to enable physicians to attend webinars when convenient for the time zone of their residence.
More information
For more information on GHHM South Asia, please visit - Global Health and Humanitarian Medicine Course South Asia
MSF UK collects your personal data on the GHHM application form for the sole purpose of administering the Global Health and Humanitarian Medicine Course.
The data is processed under Article 6(1)(b) (performance of a contract) of the General Data Protection Regulation. It is shared only with the academic institutions providing the course.
If unsuccessful in your application, we will securely retain your data for one calendar year.
If successful in your application we will securely retain your data for five years following your completion of the course, and after this will retain only basic contact information in order to maintain records of the course.
You have a right to object to the processing of your data, and to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office should you feel our processing of your personal data is not compliant with the law. Read our privacy notice for full details of MSF UK’s Privacy Policy, and how to contact us.
‘Completing the MSF GHHM course in 2021- 2022 is probably one of the best things I have done in my 35 year professional working life. For me the experience was life changing and I hope to work with MSF over the coming years. Do the GHHM course, it's challenging but worth it, you will not regret it.’
Meet our students
GHHM alumni Ihsan, Hitham and Miguel share their experiences of the course.