From Classroom to Parliament: UM Public Health Students Engage with MSF on Refugee Health

Master of Public Health (MPH) students from the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, joined Associate Professor Dr Tharani Loganathan at the parliamentary event, “The Refugee Crisis: Perspectives from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Malaysia,” at the invitation of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Malaysia.

The event provided an opportunity to explore refugee health through humanitarian and policy perspectives. Students heard from MSF colleagues about their work with Rohingya communities and engaged in conversation with Members of Parliament, including Syerleena Abdul Rashid and Ustaz Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman.

The discussions connected the experiences of displaced communities with questions of access to healthcare, protection and regional responsibility. For students studying Ethics, Law and Health, the parliamentary setting offered an opportunity to consider how the issues examined in the classroom enter public debate and policymaking.

Bringing humanitarian experience into the classroom

The engagement also included a smaller, more intimate discussion between MSF colleagues from Bangladesh and Malaysia, and MPH students at Universiti Malaya. This session created space for students to ask questions and explore the practical and ethical challenges of delivering healthcare to refugee populations.

Hearing directly from humanitarian practitioners encouraged students to consider the relationships between clinical needs, legal status, living conditions and access to services. It also prompted reflection on the responsibilities of public health professionals when working with populations facing exclusion and insecurity.

Together, the parliamentary event and university discussion linked learning across humanitarian practice, public health ethics and policy. They encouraged students to look beyond service provision to consider the wider conditions shaping the health and dignity of displaced communities.

The Department of Social and Preventive Medicine extends its appreciation to MSF Malaysia for inviting its staff and students to the parliamentary event, and to the MSF colleagues who shared their time and experiences with students at Universiti Malaya.