The medical mission has its roots in 1838 in Canton, China, when British, American and Chinese missionaries, physicians and businessman created the 'China Medical Missionary Society.' (IAMS 1992) . Medical missions portray the first attempts of the world humanitarianism which, undeniably, triggered later on global health practices.
One of the most significant missionary doctors was Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) whose figure took various status both as an object of commemoration and as a global health model. Schweitzer grew up in an Alsatian family and became a medical missionary, philosopher, theologian and musician. After having negotiated with the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society, he arrived in 1913 in the French Equatorial Africa, in Gabon and altered the health care system in Lambaréné region by founding a hospital. His aim was to provide the basic health care to as many people as possible. “My hospital will be like an African village” he had claimed. “I want my patients to feel at home. They can bring their families to live here and come and go as they please.” (Pritchard, T. 2013) .
However, in World War I, Dr Schweitzer and his…show more content… By virtue of Schweitzer’s contribution to public health in Africa, medicine achieved progress both in Africa and in the developing world. As an example, the “WHO-sponsored trials of leprosy vaccines and programs of hepatitis-B vaccination for prevention of chronic liver diseases including primary liver cancer”. Additionally, nowadays, we have realized that in order to enhance global health issues, the international cooperation is required. More examples are the response to the epidemic of AIDS, the response of the World Food Assembly as well as new Famine Early Warning system. All these advancements have their roots in the way Schweitzer had envisioned the alleviation of suffering through the concept of world citizenship instead of