1. Developing a New Generation of Global Health Thinkers and Leaders from the South
D. E. III Lucero-Prisno, L. Xu, A. Ekpenyong, B. Ntacyabukura, R. Ndayizeye, A. P. Rabe
Issue
Global health is now a popular area of study. Many global health education programs are mostly delivered in the west. Global Health Focus, an international initiative, developed global health courses which are delivered in the south. This brings learning and teaching in global health to the developing world where many health professionals and students need to have a good knowledge of and need to be empowered with.
Background
The creation of knowledge in global health has been quite rapid as the field advances. New research, approaches and paradigms are being created at a fast pace. As the developing world is central in global health, there is a dire need to educate the South about global health on a massive scale. An initiative, Global Health Focus, has been established for this purpose by bringing learning and teaching to the developing countries in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.
Rationale
To understand better the impact of the global health courses being delivered by Global Health Focus, this study was conducted focusing on those who were trained under these courses
Description
 The thinking of the thousands of participants about global health has changed and they feel that this is an important field as they are embedded within the problems and issues that global health discusses. They believe that such knowledge should be translated into actions through initiatives, leadership and research. Many of them have embarked on many of these different areas more actively thus have started to make an impact and reached a bigger population. Their understanding of global health has immensely increased and has shaped the way they feel about their outlook towards their work or education and the way they serve their communities and societies. They become more critical of the situation particularly those who are from Africa. Global health for them is not anymore a vague concept but a lived reality. Global Health Courses were held in the following regions and countries: Africa (Rwanda, Kenya, DR Congo, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Nigeria and Ethiopia), Asia (China, Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, India, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Kyrgyzstan) and Eastern Europe (Ukraine). This is an academic initiative of the Global Health Focus making GHF the biggest provider of global health courses in the world with more than 10,000 graduates using the GHF Model of learning .
Methods
Data was collected from the experiences of those who participated in the global health courses in twenty different countries focusing on a number of themes. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analysed. Participants are from East Africa, West Africa, East Asia, South East Asia, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.
Conclusion
Knowledge and understanding of global health have changed the mind-sets of young people in the developing world which pushed them to do actions making the initiative quite effective. There is a need to strengthen their understanding of values and their skills in leadership if the impact has to be bigger. Global health should be a collective action with shared benefits. Empowering a critical mass of young generation about the field will create a major change in the landscape of global health.
Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China Contact: