Link to World Health OrganizationLink to Pan American Health Organization
children in Durban South Africa

  1. Alliances for Global Health Education: Learning from South/South Collaborations-19th Annual GHEC Conference

    4/9/2010 8:00:00 AM

    1st Latin American and Caribbean Global Health Meeting &
    19th Annual GHEC Conference

     

    Alliances for Global Health Education: Learning from South-South Collaboration. Strengthening the Commitment

     

    Hosted by: The National Institute of Public Health of Mexico

    Dates: 9-11 April 2010

    Location: Cuernavaca, Mexico

     

    The recent events surrounding the outbreak of the new Influenza A H1N1 virus exemplify the vital role that cross-country and regional co-operation play in ensuring global health.   Recent years have seen a renewed effort at regional collaboration.  Additionally, the shape of these collaborations is changing from traditional North-South collaborations, characterized by the one-way transfer of technological and financial resources from developed to developing countries, to a theoretically flatter and dynamic regional collaboration, especially among ‘”southern” (or developing) countries. The numerous examples of these new regional networks include:

    • Ibero-American Ministerial Network for Health Research and Education (RIMAIS)
    • Mesoamerican Institute of Public Health
    • Brazil - African lusophone countries health collaboration
      • Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe
    • Andean Integration System
      • Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador y Peru
    • South Cone Network for Health Systems and Services Research
      • Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina
    • Amazonian Cooperation Treaty Organization
      • Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname

     

     

    This conference will capitalize on the INSP’s strategic location linking Anglophone North American countries and the regions of Latin America and the Caribbean to bring together faculty and students from institutions throughout the Americas to share experiences of creating and fostering alliances for global health education.  This 2010 conference will also serve as the 1st Latin American and Caribbean Global Health Conference, which has the aim of further fostering the discourse related to global health. 

     

    To fulfill the mandate of this initiative, the conference aims to develop a program which reflects the vibrancy and variety of Global Health programs throughout the region, while highlighting the South-South experience in fostering new collaborative mechanisms, using the lessons learned from the emerging pandemic as well as other case studies in the areas of other infectious diseases, maternal health, vaccine-preventable disease, and nutrition (from both perspectives of malnutrition and the growing epidemic of obesity and chronic health problems). This Conference will analyze how South-South  collaborations differ from traditional North-South alliances, examine successes and obstacles to effective functioning of these collaborations and cull lessons that can be learned and adopted by the North. 

     

    The themes that we plan to address in this 2010 conference include:

     

    • The role of institutional alliances in advancing global health education
    • Changing the paradigm of regional cooperation: Are South-South collaborations more horizontal?
    • Ethics and equity issues of collaborations for global health education
    • The advantages and challenges of multi-cultural and cross-cultural collaborations
    • Northern and Southern perspectives on Global Health: arriving at a consensus
    • Development of Global Health competencies: defining the optimal skill set
    • Macroeconomic policies, economic crises and health workforce education: how to feed the demand of developed and developing countries for skilled health care workers
    • Interdisciplinary approaches to global health education: beyond the traditional medical model
    • Content and orientation of global health curricula: regional perspectives

     

    The conference planning committee will particularly seek out abstracts and presentations that address the following cross-cutting issues:

    • Human displacement: migrants, refugees and human trafficking
    • The “Triple Challenge” of epidemiological transition:  infectious disease, chronic disease and accidents and violence
    • Non-communicable and chronic diseases: perspectives from the South and North

  2. Global Health & Innovation Summit at Yale

    4/17/2010 8:00:00 AM

    Global Health & Innovation Summit at Yale

    Unite For Sight is pleased to announce that registration and abstract submission are now open for the 2010 Global Health & Innovation Summit, which will be held at Yale on April 17-18, 2010. You are receiving this message because you registered to attend a past Global Health & Innovation Summit, a conference presented annually by Unite For Sight. Please feel free to forward this announcement widely. 

    The 2010 Summit will inspire and engage all participants to exchange ideas and create change.  The upcoming Summit will focus on the newest ideas in innovation, social investing, and cutting-edge ideas and strategies in global health and social entrepreneurship. Opportunities abound to engage with leading innovators and ground-breaking ideas for change.

    Global Health & Innovation Summit
    The World's Leading Idea Incubator For Global Health Innovation

    A Conference Presented Annually by Unite For Sight
    Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
    Saturday, April 17 - Sunday, April 18, 2010

    Registration Now Open (Early Bird Registration Rate):http://www.uniteforsight.org/conference

    Call For Abstracts: Submit an abstract online at http://www.uniteforsight.org/conference  The first deadline for abstract submission is August 15, and the final abstract deadline is September 15.

    "A Meeting of Minds," --CNN

    200 Speakers in April 2010, Including Keynote Addresses by Seth Godin, Dr. Jeffrey Sachs and Dr. Sonia Sachs. Plus social innovation sessions by CEOs and Directors of Acumen Fund, Partners in Health, WaterPartners, Save The Children, Share Our Strength, Somaly Mam Foundation, The Fistula Foundation, HealthStore Foundation, and many others.

    What? Join 2,200 people from all 50 states and from more than 60 countries for an innovative, high-impact idea incubator. 
    Who should attend?     Anyone interested in global health and inernational development, public health, eye care, medicine, social entrepreneurship, nonprofits, philanthropy, microfinance, human rights, anthropology, health policy, advocacy, public service, environmental health, and education.  Students, public health professionals, doctors, educators, scientists, lawyers, universities, corporations, nonprofits, and others. 

    Confirmed Keynote Speakers

    "Using The Power of Stories and Tribes To Spread Your Message and Change The World," Seth Godin, MBA, Agent of Change; New York Times Bestselling Author of Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us; Founder, Squidoo.com

    Jeffrey Sachs, PhD, Director of Earth Institute at Columbia University; Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, Professor of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University; Special Advisor to Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon

    Sonia Ehrlich Sachs, MD, MPH, Health Coordinator, Millennium Village Project

    Confirmed Social Entrepreneurship Speakers

    Scott Hillstrom, Chairman of the Board, CEO and Co-Founder, HealthStore Foundation

    Kevin Jones, Co-Founder, Good Capital

    Nancy Lublin, CEO, Do Something

    Nicholas Lumpp, Cofounder, Somaly Mam Foundation

    Joia Mukherjee, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Partners in Health; Director, Institute for Health and Social Justice; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School; Division of Social Medicine and Health Inequalities, Brigham and Women's Hospital

    Ajay Nair, MBBS, MPH, Portfolio Associate, Acumen Fund

    Billy Shore, JD, Founder and CEO, Share Our Strength

    Kevin Starr, MD, Rainer Arnhold Fellows Program, Mulago Foundation

    Gary White, Executive Director, WaterPartners

    Andrew Wolk, CEO, Root Cause

    Confirmed Featured Speakers

    Jesus Aguais, Executive Director, Aid for AIDS

    Astier Almedom, DPhil, Professor of Practice in Humanitarian Policy and Global Public Health

    Agbessi Amouzou, PhD, Assistant Scientist, Institute for International Programs, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

    Tom Arnold, CEO, Concern Worldwide

    Jane Aronson, MD, Director, International Pediatric Health Services; Founder and Executive Officer, Worldwide Orphans Foundation (WWO); Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

    Bob Bollinger, MD, MPH, Professor of Infectious Diseases and International Health; Director, Center for Clinical Global Health Education, Johns Hopkins University

    Kathleen Casey, MD, FACS, Director, Operation Giving Back, American College of Surgeons

    Luz Claudio, MD, Associate Professor of Community and Preventive Medicine, Chief of the Division of International Health, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

    Paul Cleary, PhD, Dean of Public Health, Chair, Epidemiology and Public Health; Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Public Health, Yale University School of Public Health

    Gustavo V. de Moraes, MD, Research Assistant Professor, NYU School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary

    Prabhjot Dhadialla, PhD, Program Director of Health Systems, Development and Research, Columbia Center For Global Health and Economic Development, Community Health Worker Advisor, Millennium Village Project

    Zoravar Dhaliwal, CEO, Community Lab

    Amir Dossal, Executive Director, UN Office for Partnerships

    Susan Forster, MD, Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Medical Studies, Department of Ophthalmology, Yale School of Medicine; Chief, Ophthalmology, Yale University Health Services

    Kevin Frick, PhD, Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

    Pape Gaye, President and CEO, IntraHealth International

    Ilene Gipson, PhD, Senior Scientist, Schepens Eye Research Institute; Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School

    Ashifi Gogo, Co-founder, Sproxil; Holekamp Family PhD Innovation Fellow, Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth

    Kate Grant, Executive Director, The Fistula Foundation

    Christopher P. Howson, PhD, Vice President for Global Programs, The March of Dimes Foundation

    Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena, PhD, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Malaria Research Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

    Kaveh Khoshnood, PhD, Assistant Professor in Public Health Practice, Division of Epidmiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health

    Norman Kleiman, PhD, Director, Eye Radiation and Environmental Research Laboratory, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University

    Jamie Lachman, Clowns Without Borders

    Robert Lawrence, MD, The Center for a Livable Future Professor, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Health Policy, and International Health; Director, Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

    Pamela Lynam, MD, Country Director Kenya, JHPIEGO - Johns Hopkins University

    John McGoldrick, JD, Senior Vice President, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)

    Mini Murthy, MD, MPH, MS, MPhil, CHES, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, Global Health Program Director, New York Medical College School of Public Health

    Ron Nabors, Chief Executive Officer, Christian Blind Mission-USA

    Cliff O'Callahan, MD, PhD, FAAP, Pediatric Faculty, Family Practice Group; Director of Nurseries, Middlesex Hospital; Chair, AAP Section on International Child Health

    Santa Ono, PhD, Sr. Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Academic Affairs, Emory University

    David Oot, Associate Vice President for Health, Save The Children

    Sung Chul Park, MD, Glaucoma Fellow, New York Medical College, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary

    Matthew Paul, MD, Danbury Eye Physicians and Surgeons

    Steven Phillips, MD, Medical Director, Global Issues and Projects, ExxonMobil Corporation

    Maryse B. Pierre-Louis, MD, MPH, MH/HSA, Lead HNP Specialist, Human Development; Coordinator, Booster Program For Malaria Control in Africa, World Bank Africa Region

    Louis Pizzarello, MD, MPH, Secretary General, International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness

    Suzanne Rainey, Forum One Communications

    Rebecca Richards-Kortum, PhD, Stanley C. Moore Professor and Chair of Bioengineering, Rice University

    Majid Sadigh, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor, Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine

    Sarwat Salim, MD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Tennessee-Memphis

    Georgia Sambunaris, Senior Advisor to the Director, Office of Economic Growth, US Agency for International Development

    David Spiegel, MD, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

    Laura Stachel, MD, Bixby Center for Reproductive Health, UC Berkeley School of Public Health

    John E. Tedstrom, PhD, President and CEO, Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC)

    James C. Tsai, MD, Robert R. Young Professor and Chairman, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine; Chief of Ophthalmology, Yale-New Haven Hospital

    Sheila West, PhD, El-Maghraby Professor of Preventive Ophthalmology, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

    David Zakus, BSc, MES, MSc, PhD, Director, Centre for International Health; Associate Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health; Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation; Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada

    Derek Yach, Vice President of Global Health Policy, PepsiCo

     

See more events

Durban, South Africa

July 09 2008

by: Lindsay Stone

South Africa, also known as the Rainbow Nation, has 11 spoken languages, with English being the official language. It has a rich cultural history as it was settled originally by the native African, then by the Dutch, and later by the English. Durban is the third largest city in South Africa and is found on the eastern coast in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is home to over 3 million people, 68% of whom are Zulu, followed by 20% Indian, 9% White, and 2% Coloured. Durban houses the second largest Indian population outside of India. With a total population of 47,432 and a 21% HIV prevalence rate, South Africa has the highest rate of HIV infection in the world.

South Africa's healthcare system is based on a universal healthcare model, where citizens pay little or nothing to receive healthcare services. The healthcare model also works as a referral system in which healthcare is triaged first to clinics, then to primary, secondary, and tertiary hospitals depending on the severity and comoplexity of the patient's problem.

A handful of patients had a significant impact on me but there was one man who I will never forget. He was a boy really, 20 years old who died of TB. This boy was in the MDR TB ward and was on a ventilator when I first saw him. he was extremely emaciated and was visibly absolutely miserable. he would get this desperate look in his eyes when he would see Dr. Tom and I walking through the ward. But he was having such difficulty breathing that he could barely speak to ask for help. I noticed that Dr. Tom merely glanced at his chart and told the nurse just to give him more morphine. That was hismanagement strategy! I asked Dr. Tom afterwards why he ordered the mrophine. he told me the boy would be dead within the next 2-3 days and he was simply trying to make his remaining hours more comfortable. I was devastated. This boy was inthe prime of his life. I just couldn't believe it. Dr. Tom told me that this kid was actually relatively well educated and could speak English very well. if he hadn't contracted T, he may have been able to do well for himself. I couldn't help but wonder if a person in the US would be dying at 20 years old of MDR TB. I found out later from another doctor that Dr. Tom had never told the boy he was dying. Instead the other doctor informed the boy and his m other of what was to come. By the time I returned to the hospital from the weekend, the boy had passed away. 

TB is very common in South Africa as it accompanies the high HIV/AIDS prevalence there. MDR and even XDR TB are becoming increasingly common as people are often unable to comply with their drug therapies. At this particular hospital, which is in a very rural area of the country, people often live too far away to feasibly get to the hospital for daily directo observed therapy (DOT). So they must come in once a week, which still costs about $2.50 by bus each way, to get their medication. They are instructed on how to properly take their medication on their own but there is no reinforcement of direct observed therapy. Also, there is 90% unemployment in this region so a $2.50 bus ride is impossible for a lot of people. Also, many of them don't have running water or electricity. I imagine this might make it difficult for patients to take their medication at the same time every day. Additionally, even when a patient is placed on a drug regimen, in many instances there are other family members who also have TB from whom the patient will get re-infected. The country does not have the resources to isolate every person with TB until they are non-contagious as we do in the US. Instead, they just walk around coughing, potentially infecting others. All of these factors are contributing to the spread of TB and to the rise of drug resistant strains.
                                                             Lindsay Stone SOM 2011, Durban 2008

Post a comment!

all news »

All Spotlights
All News

  1. Vietnam Trip Report

    18 August 2008

    This trip has given me the opportunities to learn various Vietnamese medical terminologies, analyze the culture more deeply, practice basic clinical skills, widen my medical knowledge, and exchange perspectives with foreign practitioners. I was able to see many abnormalities and disorders that I would never get to see in the U.S. However, I think it would have been more beneficial if I had a more extensive knowledge of the basic medical science. It was amazing to be immersed in such a different environment and I recommend it to anyone who desires an exotic learning experience.

All Reports