Please join us for a lecture by guest speaker, Dr. Bernice Dahn, Vice President for Health Sciences at the University of Liberia. She held the position of Minister of Health for the Republic of Liberia from 2015-2018 and in prior years served as the Deputy Minister of Health and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for the Republic of Liberia. Dr. Dahn led the re-establishment of the Ministry of Health and the rebuilding of Liberia’s post-conflict health care delivery system.
During the early stages of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in 2014 Dr. Dahn coordinated the national response to the epidemic, including development of treatment protocols and infection prevention and control standards, trainings, resource mobilization, and partner coordination.
Dr. Dahn has over 20 years of experience as a public health physician, policy-maker, administrator, and educator. She serves at the forefront of Liberia’s advocacy for constructive aid practice, and is now focused on improving academic and administrative systems at the newly formed College of Health Sciences at the University of Liberia, with a vision of establishing a world-class health sciences education system.
Dr. Dahn has been a resolute advocate for donor alignment to government-led plans and for mutual transparency and accountability in aid relationships. As CMO, she negotiated the Fixed Amount Reimbursement Agreement with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States’ first direct government-to-government funding mechanism, successfully instituting an innovative approach to bilateral development aid in Liberia.
Vanderbilt has been engaged in the country since 2017 through
PEER Liberia, a USAID-funded initiative to enhance undergraduate medical education, build ophthalmology residency training, and establish research and faculty development programs.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019 | noon to 1 p.m.
Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt
Wadlington Conference Room
Lunch will be provided to the first 75 attendees.
