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| Seth Morrison, Elizabeth Van Dyne, MD ( '09) and Kristie Hadley at this year's CUGH conference. |
Recently I had the opportunity to attend the annual conference for the Consortium of Universities in Global Health (CUGH). CUGH aims to bring together universities, educators, and students across the globe who are working at the forefront of global health to share ideas and create better educational practices. The theme of this year’s conference was “Universities 2.0: Advancing Global Health in the Post-MDG Era.”
Two debates
sessions in particular stick in my memory by the topic and carefully researched
points. One addressed the past and present of global health, and a second
examined the future. The first debate motion was: “Global health investments
benefit countries of the global North more than those of the global South.”
Arguing the pro-side was Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of the Lancet; on the
con-side was Nelson K. Sewankambo from Makarere University, Uganda. Both sides
argued excellent points that set the tone for the rest of the conference. The
pro side presented a critical critique of Global Health, urging us to ask the
hard question of who benefits? Thus opening a dialogue for reflection and self
criticism. The con side offered a more hopeful message, that progress towards
health equity was apparent, even amid the setbacks and struggles.
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| MSIH co-director Richard Deckelbaum leading a discusson on Food security, health and nutrition at the 2014 CUGH conference. |
The second debate,
“The Next Dollar in Global Health Should Be in Demand, Not Supply” touched on
the future of global health investments. Amanda Glassman from the Center for
Global Development, USA argued the pro side: the money should go straight to
the individuals, families, and communities who need them money, the demand, as
they are the ones who know best how it should be spent. Conversely, the con
side, Jishnu Das, Lead Economist from the Development Research Group of the
World Bank, argued that the money is best spent when given to the government
and NGO’s, the supply, because they can provide comprehensive services that
need a level of coordination and expertise that individuals cannot provide.
Both sides presented conscientious and thorough arguments, demonstrating that
there is more than one way to work towards health equity. The future will
require flexible thinking, creative solutions, and a willingness to look beyond
traditional strategies.
Other highlights
of the conference include: listening Dr. Richard Deckelbaum, the New York
Director of MSIH, moderate a discussion on “Food Security, Health, and
Nutrition”; meeting MSIH Alumnus Elizabeth Van Dyne, MD ('09) and learning about her work
in Tibet; and learning about an innovative course at Vanderbilt University that
uses metacognition as a basis in understanding the complexities of medicine and
of themselves as future medical professionals. I was continuously excited about
which sessions to attend, and disappointed that in doing so, I was missing out
on other topics.
Overall, as a
medical student nearing the last stretch of my first year at MSH, the
conference was a great opportunity to learn more about my chosen profession on
the larger scale and to think critically about my future career in practicing
global health. How can my own path be guided by the failures and successes of
those before me? How can I ask the hard questions, remaining self-critical and
reflective, while avoiding the action paralysis than can accompany such
critique? How can I use the education and resources that I have in order to
best work for health equity in my own local community, and in the greater
global community? In the daily grind of medical school, I often find myself
forgetting to ask myself these essential questions, and to remind myself the
reasons why I chose to pursue learning and service in global health. This
conference reminded me of the vital importance of remembering the greater
purpose of my medical studies and refreshed my vision for the practice of
global health.
For more information on the conference or the work of CUGH visit cugh.org.
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