About

The Yale Global Health Initiative (GHI), announced in May 2009 by President Levin as the first major initiative of the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, has completed its first year of activity.  The GHI, directed by Elizabeth Bradley, PhD, Professor of Public Health, was funded primarily by the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies and the Fogarty International Center Framework Program for Global Health grant for which Robert Dubrow, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, is the Principal Investigator.

The GHI defines global health as the field of study and practice focused on the health of human populations in a global context, transcending the perspectives and concerns of individual nations. Health problems that transcend national borders or have a global political and economic impact are often emphasized. Therefore, global health is about worldwide improvement of human health, reduction of disparities, and protection against global threats that disregard national borders, class, gender, race, ethnicity, and culture. Global health refers to the scope of problems, not their location.

Seeking to support work that is global, humane, and interdisciplinary, the GHI Faculty Advisory Committee, which advises on strategic direction for GHI, represents faculty from across the University. GHI has sponsored new opportunities for students, faculty, and post-doctoral research associates:

For students, GHI has developed more than a dozen new courses in global health, as well as a graduate Global Health Certificate program and the Global Health Fellows program for undergraduates. Additionally, GHI provides funding for the GHI Field Experience and the GHI Multidisciplinary Team Project for more than 20 global health internships available to undergraduate and graduate students.

For faculty, GHI sponsored faculty travel awards to initiate new international research collaborations as well as a Global Health Research-in-Progress Working Group to foster interdisciplinary collaborations in global health across campus. GHI also initiated a Global Health Post-Doctoral Fellowship program with four new Postdoctoral Associates, each teaching a new graduate seminar in global health.

GHI has also supported growth of the Yale Global Health Leadership Institute (GHLI), which seeks to develop and support global health leaders through on- and off-campus educational programs and applied research. Currently, GHLI is actively working with multiple countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, and Rwanda as well as China, Egypt, South Africa, and the United Kingdom to improve health care delivery in these settings. GHLI involves students and faculty in its country programs.

In summary, the first year of the Yale GHI has been an active one with new programs for students and broader engagement of faculty for increasing our collective commitment to improving human health across the globe through education and research.

• Advisory Committee
• Seminars and Speaker Series
• Post Doctoral Associates
• Contact