| Global Health Update |
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Myron S. Cohen, MD, Director of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases This month I want to report on a couple of recent events which highlight the growth of and momentum of the “global health movement” on both a local and a national level.
The list of speakers featured some real luminaries: Francis Collins, head of the NIH and a UNC alumnus, Zeke Emanuel, a senior advisor at the White House Office of Management and Budget on health policy (and brother of Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s chief of staff), and Ambassador Eric Goosby, who heads PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief). The Presidents of Duke, Boston University, Emory, University of Washington, and Johns Hopkins were also present and spoke to the consortium. These talks set the tone for a series of engaging discussions on topics such as:
This inaugural meeting served as a concrete example of the tremendous enthusiasm for global health among universities, and UNC is not alone in its mission to become a truly global university. However, while at the meeting, I was struck by the funding gap between public and private universities. For example, our colleagues at the Duke Global Health Institute are working with a $30 million start-up budget. As a public, state-run university, UNC can only dream of having such resources at its disposal. It will be interesting to see how university global health programs evolve and compare across the public-private divide, particularly since it is clear that faculty and students at public universities such as UNC, NC State, and the Universities of Michigan and Wisconsin—all of whom were well-represented at the meeting—are no less invested in them. On a local note, I am excited to announce the official launch of the Triangle Global Health Consortium (TGHC), whose founding members include UNC, NC State, Duke, Family Health International, IntraHealth International, North Carolina Biotechnology Center, and RTI International. The mission of the TGHC is to promote collaborative research, integrate programs across local institutions, establish joint service projects, and inspire and mentor the next generation of global health leaders.
Speakers at the N.C. meeting included Admiral William Fallon, former commander of the U.S. Central Command and the U.S. Pacific Command and global health leaders from North Carolina, including IGHID associate director Peggy Bentley, who did a terrific job of summarizing the global health contributions of UNC, NC State, and Duke. David Hartman, the original host of ABC’s Good Morning America (who now lives in Durham) moderated the program, which can be seen in its entirety at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2203814. Interest in global health is growing by leaps and bounds, and I am encouraged by the energy surrounding the CUGH and TGHC. The world faces many health challenges, and it is clear that many are ready to take that challenge. Next month I will talk about a promising new AIDS vaccine that was announced earlier this month, particularly UNC’s role in the future of AIDS vaccine development and eradication. |
On September 14-15, global health professionals from 60 universities gathered on the campus of the National Institutes of Health for the inaugural meeting of The Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH).
The official launch of the TGHC was announced at a statewide forum on September 21 titled “Why Global Health Matters to North Carolina. ”