The challenges in global health represent a clear and present threat to the health and well being of individuals and communities around the world, with the greatest impact on low and middle income countries comprising the global South.
Internationally, in response to this situation, academic institutions around the world are engaged in developing solutions to this threat - through a range of local, national, regional and global efforts. Despite the reality that developing countries bear the brunt of global ill-health and with the vast majority of global health initiatives located in developed countries, there is a very limited number of targeted global health initiatives in their counterpart institutions in the global South.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) aims to address this challenge through establishing a Global Health Initiative (GHI). This initiative will grapple with key relevant contemporary global health issues with the objective to generate knowledge and expertise in global health, whilst advancing a global South contribution in engaging greater global health equity and ultimately - health for all.
The challenges in global health are numerous, and whilst there has been a concerted effort internationally to address these challenges, it is imperative that greater emphasis should be placed on translating the needs into the development and implementation of practical solutions. This extends from the basic sciences, to the bedside and clinical medicine, to policy and community application.
The initiative is therefore necessarily multidisciplinary and will harness and integrate cross-faculty expertise within UCT - advancing partnerships that focus expertise on these challenges that generate innovation in the social and technological dimensions in health.
The Global Health Initiative will operate on three platforms, providing an academic focus viz. research, education & training, and collaborations, with special attention in engaging partnerships between institutions in the global South.
Director
Professor Marian Jacobs
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