UNIVERSITY COALITIONS for GLOBAL HEALTH

Jordan Sloshower, Research Coordinator in Family Medicine at the University of Manitoba, Canada, tells us about his university’s involvement in the UCGH Week of Action. He also reflects on the reasons for the increasing interest in global health -Stephanie

During the week of March 24, 2008, the University of Manitoba played host to a lecture series on topics related to “Global Health”. This event was part of a larger “Global Health Week of Action” organized by Universities Coalitions for Global Health (UCGH)-a network of international health-focused organizations and individuals with a university presence.

The overarching goal of this international campaign was to bring together medical, graduate and undergraduate students to advocate for the right to health for populations that are underserved by drawing attention to a host of pressing issues, including gender inequality, HIV/AIDS, access to clean water, sanitation and essential medicines, and the global healthcare worker shortage.

Here at the University of Manitoba, lecturers spoke about their groundbreaking work in the field of infectious disease, about HIV/AIDS advocacy and activism, and about the relationship between health, politics and culture. In the lecture series’ keynote address, Professor Emeritus Dr Alan Ronald outlined his experience with the university’s global health initiatives in Kenya, Uganda and India and provided advice for students in health disciplines who wish to “change the world” through their life’s work. As this lecture series coincidentally overlapped with the launch of The University of Manitoba’s Alan Klass Memorial Program for Health Equity and the publication of a two-day report in The Winnipeg Free Press on HIV/AIDS prevention programs in India set up by Manitoba-based researchers and physicians, (1) the question arises, why there is so much interest and activity in the field of global health and health equity?

Part of the answer to this question surely lies in the fact that the search for solutions to global health problems presents unique challenges (and funding opportunities) to researchers who attempt to apply science and technology to the improvement of the human condition. However, an equally significant reason for the recent surge of interest amongst the public and academics worldwide is that achieving global health equity, or fairness in basic health care measures for rich and poor alike, is not just a scientific problem, but also a cultural, political and economic problem deeply rooted in rapidly changing social structures. In other words, the issues raised by the field of global health probe deeper into human consciousness, as they call into question the way we organize our affairs in society and raise ethical questions about our actions in an increasingly interconnected world.

The aforementioned report in the Winnipeg Free Press is illustrative of this point. Rather than focusing on Dr Stephen Moses’ groundbreaking scientific research on the effectiveness of male circumcision in preventing the spread of HIV, the report assumed a more humanistic perspective. By examining the sex-trade in India, the report outlined how underlying social structures and cultural norms on gender roles become embodied as disease in female sex-workers. In so doing, this article effectively conveyed the anthropological observation that “AIDS is a socio-cultural and political-economic phenomenon with biological manifestations.” (2) As a result, preventing HIV/AIDS is not just a problem for medical doctors, but is a complex initiative requiring collaboration between health workers, politicians, development workers, community leaders and ordinary people. The need for such an interdisciplinary approach speaks to the underlying reality that the problems afflicting the health of populations worldwide are symptoms of a web of social, political and economic pathologies that constitute social injustice. Hopefully, the growing interest in global health reflects the realization that assaults against human dignity should not only attract the interest of inquisitive scientists and researchers but should compel all constituents of global civil society into concerted pragmatic action. Jordan Sloshower: sloshowe@cc.umanitoba.ca

References

(1) Skeritt J. Where HIV flourishes:India’s culture makes AIDS campaign an uphill battle. The Winnipeg Free Press 2008 Mar 22. Available from:URL: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/special/aidsindia/story/4147383p-4737039c.html

(2) Marshall W. AIDS, race and the limits of science. Soc Sci Med 2005;60(11):2515-2525.

Schedule of Student Events and the Global Health Council 2008 Conference:

Tuesday, May 27:
• 9:30-11 am: Panel Session: Careers in Global Health: How We Got Started

Learn more about careers in global health from senior-level professionals. Prominent global health figures will describe the unique characteristics of their field and how and why they got started in global health. See the GHC website for details on the speakers.

• 2:30-5 pm: Global Health Career Fair

This event provides a convenient location for students and job seekers to connect with recruiters from non-profit organizations, government agencies, corporations and academic institutions to discuss organizational functions, desired skill sets, current and future employment and internship opportunities, career paths in the field, and other career information. Each recruiter will have entry-level positions available.
o Author Patricia Ohmans will be available and selling copies of her and Garth Osborn’s hit book, Finding Work in Global Health, a practical guide for job-seekers or anyone who wants to make the world a healthier place.

• 7:30-9 pm: Student and Young Professional Networking Reception, hosted by GlobeMed and UCGH

Connect with your peers at the Student and Young Professional Networking Reception, hosted by GlobeMed and the University Coalitions for Global Health, and get involved with some of the leading global health student organizations. Representatives from the Student Global AIDS Campaign, Americans for Informed Democracy, The American Medical Student Association and many more will be present.

Wednesday, May 28:
• 12:15-1:15 pm: Brown-Bag Session: Getting a Job in Global Health

This event will focus on gaining international experience, possible career paths, the value of professional development and mentoring, and networking at the conference. There will also be real-life examples of GHFP Fellows currently working in global health and a question-and-answer session with senior program staff.

The Global Health Fellows Program presently has 75 fellows in a broad range of positions working with USAID and partner organizations in developing countries and Washington, D.C. Focus areas include HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, avian influenza, maternal and child health, family planning and reproductive health.

Thursday, May 29:
• 12:30-2 pm: Brown-Bag Session, Film Series at Career Connections: Mountains of Hope: Film and Global Health

Join us for a special screening of the student-produced documentary Mountains of Hope, and learn about careers in film and global health from an independent documentary filmmaker whose background is in international development work.

Friday, May 30:
• 12:45-1:45: Brown-Bag Session: Finding Work in Global Health

Considering a global health career, a part-time internship, or simply a volunteer stint overseas? You won’t want to miss this brown-bag workshop. Patricia Ohmans, MPH, co-author of the book Finding Work in Global Health, will offer an insider’s guide to entering the field. Her lively, interactive presentation will cover the 10 top myths about global health; seven ways to work in the field; a dozen questions to ask yourself BEFORE you go, and more. This session is designed especially for entry-level professionals, but NGO recruiters are cordially invited to participate.

• 2:15-4:15: Advocacy Training Workshop: Youth Strategies for Creating Change
o

Want to make a difference on your campus? Come learn from grassroots activists about empowering youth in support of global health advocacy issues. Topics covered include coalition building, designing campaign strategies, mobilizing youth-based communities, and effective campus organizing.

“[Governments] recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health…[including the] provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking water.”-UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a worldwide water crisis among the world’s poorest people. The United Nations estimates that 1.1 billion people have no regular access to clean water, and 2.6 billion people lack access to proper sanitation. A lack of clean water kills nearly 2.2 million people a year, most of them children. Children in improvised nations have the same right to water as the rest of us!

Why Don’t Children Have Access to Water?
• Lack of public water systems
• Money for debt and none for water-in many nations more is spent on each year on debt payments to wealthy nations and banks than is invested in public water systems
• Water owned by corporations—the World Bank, U.S. government, and others are forcing communities to privatize their water systems instead of investing in water as a shared resource. People who cannot afford to pay for water are denied access to this life-giving resource.
• Collecting rainwater has been made illegal because rainwater has also been privatized.

Want to Learn more about Access to Water? Check out the UCGH Week of Action Toolkit or attend the World Water Day Summit that is being organized by Americans for Informed Democracy.

“Water is Life: Youth Leading Change on World Water Day” Summit

Summit: March 22
Training Day: March 23
Lobby Day: March 24

Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
Johns Hopkins University
1740 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Hosted by: Student Movement for Real Change, Americans for Informed Democracy, Food and Water Watch, Vestergaard Frandsen, Razoo.com, Carnegie Council’s Policy Innovations, Student Campaign for Child Survival, Chipotle, Whole Foods, Water Advocates

The Summit:
The Saturday summit will be a forum for dialogue, through panels, keynotes, workshops and service, between young people from around the United States and leaders, experts and social entrepreneurs on the issue of water and how it remains a global crisis.

With 1.1 billion people living without access to clean water, the issue is of the utmost important for alleviating poverty. SMRC and its partners invites young people to join us on World Water Day to help bring about change in our global community.

We are seven years away from 2015, the date that the Millenium Development Goals called for reducing by half the number of people who lack access to water. There is much work to be done. Join us in helping to meet that goal.

Interested in getting additional training on organizing and to lobby congress? Trip participants are invited to join us for two additional days of intensive training and lobbying, its optional and is FREE!

Clean Water Lobbying Day
You’ve mobilized your campus, and your community; now join us in Congress on March 24th, and help make clean water a national priority! Water is a basic public service and a human right. Here in the U.S., we are lucky to have some of the best tap water in the world. Still, many communities struggle to find the resources they need to keep their water safe, clean, and affordable. As droughts sweep the country, and our infrastructure ages, we need long-term solutions from our leaders, not short-term fixes. Meet with your elected officials on Monday, March 24th, and ask them to pass legislation that protects and funds our public water, not just now, but for future generations. Training and materials provided- no legislative experience necessary.

Building the Movement: Grassroots Skills for Water Justice
Join us on Sunday, March 23rd for action-oriented Advocacy Day! For students looking to gain concrete grassroots advocacy skills to take back to campus. Topics include: Media and Messaging, Recruiting and Cultivating Campus Leaders, Strategic Campaign Planning, and Legislative Strength: Running Effective District Meetings. Details to come!

Summit Speakers Include:
1. Vanessa Tobin, Deputy Director of Programmes, UNICEF
2. Ambassador John McDonald, Chairman, Global Water and Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy.
3. Andra Tamburro, Water Advocates
4. Daniel Wolf, International Lifeline Fund
5. Michael Deane, Environmental Protection Agency
6. Carol Collado, Child Health Foundation
7. Vesteguard Frandsen Innovations Representative
8. Policy Advisor, Food and Water Watch/Take back the Tap

Click here for more information! http://studentmovementusa.org/waterday_conference.php

Student Training Calls: March 13th at 9pm (EST) & March 14th at 12pm (EST)
Call in Number 1-888-296-6500 Code: 130039
Learn more about the week of action toolkit and speak directly with the UCGH national coordinators!

Check out the Week of Action and download the toolkit online

Global Health Week of Action 2008
The Many Sides of the Right to Health

WHAT: The member organizations of the University Coalitions for Global Health (UCGH) have come together again in the spirit of partnership to hold the 1st even Global Health Week of Action where we hope to bring together med, grad and undergrad students to advocate for the right to health for populations that are under served or where it is outright ignored by the governments responsible for their welfare. We will bring attention to the right to health by focusing on the following issues:
• Access to Clean Water
• Women and AIDS
• HIV and Malaria
• Access to Medicines and the Role of Universities
• Global Health Care Worker Shortage

Check out the Week of Action and download the toolkit online

This year’s activities include:
• Implementation of an Issue=specific toolkit created by the national coordinators of UCGH
• Online chats with Global Health Experts
• Student planning and advocacy training conference calls

WHEN: March 22nd-March 30th 2008 On your Campus!
Student Training Calls: March 13th at 9pm (EST) & March 14th at 12pm (EST)
Call in Number 1-888-296-6500 Code: 130039
Learn more about the week of action toolkit and speak directly with the UCGH national coordinators!

Contact: your national coordinator or sdevita@globalhealth.org to find out more!!!

Check out the Week of Action and download the toolkit online

This past Tuesday, nearly 200,000 student activists took action for Youth AIDS Day 2008. During the UCGH national call in day students from across the country urged members of the House and Senator Lugar to reauthorize and reform the policies in the next iteration of the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Together we called on Congress to increase funding levels to $50 billion over the next 5 years, support the training and retention of 140,000 new health care professionals, remove the 1/3 abstinence until marriage earmark prevention funding earmark…and I have to say you were VERY successful!

As students were jamming Capitol Hill phone lines with hundreds of calls and clogging up email inboxes with PEPFAR demands, activists in D.C. were ramping for “mark up” in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HCFA) and together we were able to get an excellent PEFPAR 2 bill passed through committee.

So I want to say a special thank you to all of those who took action for Youth AIDS Day. We generated over 1,206 emails from 346 Congressional Districts and made hundreds of calls to Senator Lugar’s office (who’s staff actually called one of the supporting organizations to ask why the students kept calling!-great work everyone!)

For those of you who maybe interested on Thursday, February 28 at 8pm ET and Friday, February 29 at 2pm ET, there will be a conference call to update student advocates on the current PEPFAR legislation and discuss what steps to take next. Please join us to learn how you can continue to take action to make sure this important piece of legislation passes. At the start time, call in to 800-505-4464 and type the passcode 951678# to join the call.

ps…check out PHR’s awesome blog write up about Youth AIDS Day