GHP Weekly NewsletterApril 19, 2024Global Health Week begins on Monday! Please see below for more information on our exciting week of upcoming events and details about the symposium on Friday. We hope to see you there!
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GHP’s Global Health Week will be held April 22 to 26, 2024! Global Health Week 2024 will mark the 30th anniversary of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo. The 1994 ICPD redefined population and development issues by emphasizing that the protection of individual human rights, including gender equity and reproductive health and rights, must be at the heart of population and development programs. During Global Health Week, we will analyze the ICPD’s progress and setbacks, discuss current and future priorities, and explore topics not addressed in Cairo, such as climate change and LGBTQIA+ issues.
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Faculty DebateResolved: High quality evidence about what works is the most important gap in maternal health policymaking
Monday, April 22 / 1–2 pm / Building 1, Room 1208* & Zoom
Join us for a debate featuring Assistant Professor of Global Health Kevin Croke and Associate Professor of Global Health Economics Margaret McConnell! GHP student Jioni Tuck will moderate this debate about the role of evidence in maternal health policymaking. *Please note that the event location has changed.
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Virtual ConversationShifting global health paradigms and effective advocacy: Feminists making the impossible possible in Cairo
Tuesday, April 23 / 1–2 pm / Zoom
It is widely accepted that the 1994 ICPD in Cairo changed paradigms in population policies, but it is usually forgotten that the conference also contributed to a shift of paradigms in global health: from one focused on “patients” to one focused on persons with a right to health; from a uterus-based patient perspective to a holistic approach towards women as agents with multiple needs and capabilities. At the 1994 ICPD, feminists from around the world organized themselves, created alliances, and learned the art and craft of advocacy to effectively propose new alternatives from a feminist perspective. Join Carmen Barroso, participant in the 1994 ICPD and former director of the Western Hemisphere Region of International Planned Parenthood, and Kelly Blanchard, president of Ibis Reproductive Health, for a conversation about shifting population and global health paradigms and the impact of advocacy and civil society engagement.
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Movie Night“The Janes” with Jacqueline Bhabha
Wednesday, April 24 / 5–8 pm / Building 1, Room 1208
Come enjoy pizza and snacks while watching “The Janes,” an HBO documentary about an underground abortion network in 1970s Chicago. Following the screening, Jacqueline Bhabha, professor of the practice of health and human rights, will moderate discussion.
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Brown Bag Seminar“I was obligated to accept”: Coercion and autonomy in global family planning programs 30 years after Cairo
Thursday, April 25 / 1–1:55 pm / Zoom
The Global Health Week Brown Bag Seminar will be presented by Leigh Senderowicz, ScD, MPH. Leigh is an assistant professor in the department of gender and women’s studies and the department of obstetrics and gynecology at University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is a public health researcher and feminist social demographer focusing on global sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender, and coloniality. Her mixed-methods research focuses on contraceptive autonomy, exploring the ways that new approaches to measurement and evaluation can promote person-centered care, health equity, and reproductive freedom.
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Global Health Week Symposium
Friday, April 26 / 1:30–5pm, reception to follow / Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA
Join us for the Global Health Week Symposium and Poster Day! Natalia Kanem, MD, MPH, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), will present the keynote address. Then, in panel 1, “The Importance of the 1994 ICPD–Cairo,” panelists Judith Bruce, Marcia Castro, Jacqueline Pitanguy, and Steven Sinding will reflect on the significance of the 1994 ICPD. In panel 2, “Cairo +30: Old Promises and New Challenges,” Brittany Charlton, Jewel Gausman, Josh Glasser, and Ana Langer will consider topics that were insufficiently covered in Cairo and discuss how to best move forward. Marcia Castro will announce poster day awards, and a reception with posters will follow from 5 to 6:30 pm. Visit our website for the agenda and speaker bios.
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Marcia Castro Moderates Two-Day Event on Predatory Extractivism
Last week, the Brazil Studies Program of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) at Harvard University held a two-day event focusing on two catastrophic tailings dam collapses, both of which took place in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais in the last decade. The event began on Thursday, April 11, with a screening of “Ironland,” a documentary on the dam failures, followed by a discussion with Andresa Aparecida Rocha Rodrigues, Denise Bebbington, and Marcia Castro, chair of the Department of Global Health and Population and director of the Brazil Studies Program.
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On Friday, April 12, the event continued with a full day of panel discussions. Sitting in front of photos of the 292 victims of the Brumadhino and Mariana disasters, community advocates, scholars, and legal experts spoke of the varied ramifications of these disasters and the ongoing fight for justice. Mônica dos Santos and Alexandra Andrade Gonçalves Costa spoke about the community effects of the tragedies, and Monica Viegas Andrade, a former Takemi fellow, shared her findings regarding health-related quality of life losses in Mariana. André Luis Carvalho spoke about his experience photographing the affected towns and the importance of images for collective memory, and Guilherme de Sá Meneghin discussed his years of legal attempts to receive reparations for the affected communities and criminal punishments for the mining companies. Finally, Tom Goodhead spoke about his role in litigating the world’s largest class action lawsuit against mining company BHP on behalf of over 700,000 people affected by their dam disasters. Marcia Castro ended the day by quoting Raul Seixas to say “‘A dream we dream alone is just a dream; a dream we dream together is reality’ – so let’s continue to dream together.” To learn more about the panelists, visit the event website.
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Harvard Health Systems Innovation Lab Holds Hackathon
The Harvard Health Systems Innovation Lab (HSIL) hosted top talent from across the world last week. The participants came together to brainstorm AI and digital health solutions to major challenges in health systems. Over 500+ participants from eight global hubs, including 70+ participants in Boston, worked together for two intense days to come up with solutions in the areas of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and mental health. HSIL is organizing hackathons every year; find out more via their website.
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Upcoming Events
Speakers will share their own perspectives; they do not speak for Harvard.
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The Ethics of AI in Public Health Communication
Tuesday, April 23 / 1–1:50 pm / Kresge 502 & Zoom / Lunch provided
Join Robert Jennings and Connie Moon Sehat for a discussion of their work co-chairing the Analysis and Response Toolkit for Trust (ARTT) and National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC) Ethical Use of AI in Public Health Communications Working Group. This event is presented in collaboration with the Health Communication Concentration and the Stanford Health Equity Media Fellowship.
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Takemi Program in International Health Weekly Seminar
Tuesday, April 16 / 1:30–3 pm / Building 1, Room 1110
Join Stéphane Verguet and Jesse Bump for a discussion about Stéphane's research. Stéphane Verguet is an associate professor of global health. To get the most out of this seminar, please be sure to arrive on time.
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Dissertation Defense: Provider Decision-Making and Incentives in Resource-Poor SettingsWednesday, April 24 / 12–2 pm / Building 1, Room 1208 & Zoom
The PhD in Population Health Sciences and the Department of Global Health and Population are proud to announce the dissertation defense of PhD candidate Han Zhang! For those unable to join in person, the defense can be viewed on Zoom with the password Spring2024.
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Environment, Women, and Children: Experiences from the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
Wednesday, April 24 / 1–1:50 pm / FXB G12 / Lunch provided
Join the Women, Gender & Health Interdisciplinary Concentration and speakers Aya Goto and Michio Murakami for a lunchtime talk and Q&A on their work surrounding the environmental and human health impacts of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Michio Murakami, specially appointed professor at the Center for Infectious Disease Education and Research, Osaka University, will present on “Evacuation and Decontamination: Impact on Life Expectancy and Wellbeing.” Aya Goto, Taro Takemi Professor of the Practice of International Community Health and director of the Takemi Program, will present “Mothers worry and children act for positive actions in the community.”
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Revenue Mobilization for Healthcare: Opportunities and Challenges
Wednesday, April 24 / 5:30–6:30 pm / FXB G13
A fireside chat with three female former ministers: Lia Tadesse (former minister of health in Ethiopia), Awa Coll-Seck (former minister of health in Senegal), and Rosine Sori-Coulibaly (former minister of economy, finance, and development in Burkina Faso). This conversation will be moderated by Hailu Dhufera, a current DrPH candidate, and aim to discuss and shed light on the intricacies of revenue mobilization for healthcare. The session will explore the dual aspects of this critical issue, the opportunities it presents for enhancing healthcare systems, and the challenges that come with implementing effective revenue mobilization strategies. This event is hosted by the Harvard Chan Africa Health Students Forum and the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program.
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Harvard Global Health Institute Coffee Sessions
Friday, April 26 / 9–9:45 am / Zoom
This session will explore the partnerships and people that enable Better Evidence at Ariadne Labs to support the frontline health workforce to make the best decisions when and where it matters most. This session will feature Biliamin Popoola, president of the Better Evidence for Training Champion Steering Committee and librarian at the University of Medical Sciences in Nigeria, and Julie Rosenberg, associate director of Better Evidence. The two will discuss the importance and lessons of partnerships, how digital tools impact the global health landscape, and how the program aims to impact global health equity in both the short and long run.
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A Looming Famine: Starvation in Gaza
Tuesday, April 30 / 11 am / Zoom
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Open Call for Applications
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2024 Urban Humanitarian Emergencies Course
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative is excited to announce that registration for the Urban Humanitarian Emergencies Course is now open! The course will be offered in person from July 16 to 19, 2024, in Cambridge, MA. Visit the course website to learn more and register.
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Academic PositionsFacultyStaff PositionsInternships and Internal Student Positions
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