Public health is global health

Highlights from this year’s work in global health:

• 20 students blogged about their experiences in 11 different countries
• Held first ever Gillings International Student Orientation during orientation week
• Started new Gillings International Graduate Student Association to represent international students at the school
• Hosting the School’s first ever Fulbright-in-Residence this year! (Read more on p. 32)
• Humanitarian Health Initiative (HHI) continues its country-level service projects in Gaza, Syria, Sierra Leone and Nicaragua, as well as with several major global organizations, such as WHO and MSF.
• Supported 12 HHI student interns

Impact of our global faculty’s work:

• Abigail Hatcher, PhD, assistant professor in health behavior, helped add violence prevention to maternal health policy and co-wrote a presidential declaration that altered legislation in South Africa.
• Jason West, PhD, professor in environmental sciences and engineering, co-chairs the World Health Organization’s working group for Global Air Pollution and Health Technical Advisory Group and sits on the advisory board for the Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report.
• Bert Peterson, MD, professor in maternal and child health, is chairing a new Lancet Commission on Evidence Based Implementation in Global Health. The commission aims to improve how life-saving and life-enhancing interventions are put into practice around the world, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). (Read more)

This year, we plan to identify and plan for changes to our global health curriculum based on our own assessment and that of our external advisors.