“One of the key junctures I have encountered is the tension of whether to stay in the Philippines, for example, to get an education here, to have more exposure to public health in the country, or to gain experience abroad,” he said. said in the latest episode.”Global Health Matters” Podcast by Host Gary Aslanyan.
“We have pressing global health challenges that we can certainly contribute to in terms of solving them, but we also have a baggage of local health problems,” he adds.
Definition of global health
As Aslanyan emphasized, the term global health itself has come under considerable scrutiny recently for its connotations of ‘public health elsewhere’.
“The conversation about the decolonization of global health is ongoing, and we believe this episode will further contribute to this important debate,” says the host.
Aslanyan and Guinto discuss various elements of this challenge with fellow podcaster Stephanie Topp, Associate Professor of Global Health and Development at James Cook University in Australia.
“I have no clinical training, I am neither a medical professional by background nor a historian by background. That’s why we’re motivated,” emphasizes Topp.
public health accountability
An internship in Zambia exposed Topp to the uncomfortable side of global health, where people in positions of power are not held accountable for their actions. This prompted the researcher to obtain a Ph.D. To work on creating knowledge that can be used to make informed decisions.
Access to global health education is another important issue discussed by Aslanyan, Guinto, and Topp.
“Cross-border education is essential,” Guinto points out. “Unfortunately, this is out of reach for many. It’s a way of making things happen.”
The key to solving these challenges, argues Top, is not biomedical knowledge. What is needed is a “global health professional who can operate in the urban planning, environmental planning and social service spaces to inform decision-making and collaborate with decision-makers in these diverse areas.” ‘ she says.
“Ultimately, I think global health education lacks sufficient investment in competencies derived from the social sciences,” Top adds.
Listen to past episodes on the Health Policy website >>
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Image Credit: Global Health Matters Podcast.
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