The College of Public Health and the Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute, along with the new UGA Center for Global Health, will host the third annual Global Health Symposium, entitled “Health and Disease in East Africa: Research and Partnerships,” April 8-9 at the Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences.
The two-day event will examine East Africa’s ongoing public health challenges with a particular focus on building and expanding partnerships for research and training in Africa and the U.S.
“We now live in a global and interconnected environment, where health problems in East Africa can affect our lives in the U.S.,” said Dr. Christopher Whalen, professor of epidemiology and symposium organizer. “Through partnerships with African colleagues in research and education, we will be able to promote global health.”
Presentations during the symposium will not only examine efforts in East Africa to prevent and control infectious and chronic diseases such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, but provide participants with an understanding of this region’s people, culture and geography. Likewise, participants will learn how international partnerships are formed to recognize the joint talents and responsibilities of colleagues in different countries and cultures.
Featured speakers are:
• Dr. William Bazeyo, dean, Makerere University School of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda;
• Dr. James Reed, professor of medicine and associate chair of medicine for research, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta; and
• Dr. Peter Nsubuga, branch chief, Capacity Development Branch, Division of Global Public Health Capacity Development, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta.
There is a registration fee of $5 for students and $10 for everyone else.
The symposium is a joint effort of the College of Public Health and Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute aimed at building momentum behind new programs in global health at UGA, while addressing how culture and society, infectious disease, nutrition and the environmental impact of public health issues around the world.
Formed in 2009, the center will lead and organize efforts at the College of Public Health to study, teach and serve in the areas of global health. Its mission is to find the best practices in health-care delivery wherever they are in the world and adapt them to improve public health practices not only in Georgia and the U.S., but in the underserved and developing nations that need them most.
“The process of ‘globalization’ has enhanced awareness, interest and the importance of global health,” said Dr. Richard Schuster, professor of health policy and management and director of the Center for Global Health. “We all have to see health problems as transcending borders, cultures and governments.”
Additional sponsors for this year’s symposium include the African Studies Institute, the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, the Office of International Education and the National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center.