About

Mission Statement

The International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) is organized and operated exclusively for educational, scientific and charitable* purposes. The ISTM is dedicated to promoting healthy, safe, and responsible travel and movement of all people crossing borders by facilitating advancement of epidemiological surveillance and research, education and service in travel and migration medicine, to the benefit of individuals and communities. More specifically, this includes illness and injury prevention, diagnostics, and therapeutics, with attention given to the understanding, impact and modification of environmental, behavioural, or host factors on the health of travellers and migrants, in cooperation with health care providers, academic centers, health authorities, and other collaborating partners.

ISTM's specific goals are to promote travel health including migrant health by:

• educating health care professionals, public health professionals, travel industry and the travelling public about travel medicine
• providing a scientific focus for travel medicine
• fostering research in travel medicine, including the promotion of international collaborative studies
• promoting development and evaluation of safe, effective, preventive and curative interventions
• developing guidelines for travel medicine practice
• advocating for healthy and sustainable travel
• promoting distribution of rapid, publicly available information related to travel medicine issues
• facilitating international contacts and collaborations between practitioners of travel medicine, health authorities and non-governmental organizations
• supporting research projects with priority for those of excellence developed in resource-limited countries and those with particular focus on neglected health problems in populations on the move
• continuing to support the GeoSentinel^® Network created 1995 as a joint project between the ISTM and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• providing grants for professionals residing in resource-limited countries to participate in travel medicine educational activities

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ISTM Vision Statement

The ISTM is a vibrant and inclusive international society organized and operated exclusively for educational, scientific and charitable* purposes, and is committed to ongoing and sustained contributions to the advancement of travel and migration medicine globally.

*Within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

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2023-2025 ISTM Presidential Goals

Unity, Community and Opportunity

• To unify ISTM around its core mission, promoting excellence and professionalism in all of its activities.
• To build a strong global ISTM community dedicated to the dissemination of knowledge of the health benefits and risks of international travel.
• To use every opportunity to grow as an academic and clinical discipline and to collaborate with entities outside travel medicine.  

Gerard Flaherty
ISTM President