Global Health (GLOH)

This course introduces fundamental terminology, frameworks, problems, and solutions in global health. Basic demographic and epidemiological issues are discussed. Health sector issues are examined within the context of comparative social, economic, and political systems. The course will also explore intersectoral issues (e.g., population, patterns of disease, environmental health, and nutrition) and their effects on the governance and stewardship of global health. Topics covered include key epidemiological concepts (mortality, morbidity, incidence, prevalence, DALYs,etc.); culture, ethics and human rights in global health; environmental health; communicable diseases; non-communicable diseases; mental health; health systems; global health security; One Health; cooperation in global health; health IT; and rotating special topics such as HIV/AIDS and NTDs. The course also explores careers in global health.

This introductory course presents the principles and methods of epidemiology, including descriptive and analytic approaches to assessing the distribution of health and disease in populations and the factors that influence those distributions. The emphasis is on understanding concepts rather than quantitative computing, although calculations are involved. The course also provides basic research skill training, including formulating research hypotheses, discussing the characteristics of different study designs, basic data analysis strategies, and scientific presentation on disease epidemics. At the end of the course, students should be able to interpret and critique a public health journal article, be familiar with standard epidemiologic study designs and the biases associated with observational studies, and have a basic understanding of the applications of the latest technology in epidemiology, such as disease surveillance, molecular epidemiology, cancer epidemiology, epidemiology in health policy research, disease modeling and cost-effective analysis, etc. Through the combination of readings, short lectures, guest lectures, discussions and practices in class, critical review of papers, and case studies, students without prior coursework in epidemiology will acquire the core competencies in epidemiology expected of all Global Health undergraduate and graduate students.

This course examines the health situation of mothers and children within the global context of socio-cultural factors and international development. The focus is on major causes of morbidity and mortality for women and children, current and emerging health issues, effective strategies and approaches to address these and the response of governments and of the international community. Topics covered include the social determinants of MNCH, antenatal care & birth, maternal deaths and interventions specific to these causes, access to quality maternal care, family planning & contraception, FGM, obstetric fistula, female cancers, HIV & PMTCT, neonatal health issues & current approaches to newborn care, measurements of infant & child health (data, trends), diarrhea and ORT, pneumonia, polio, measles, global immunization challenges, GOBI & IMCI, malaria, TB, HIV orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs), child labor, sexual exploitation of children, childhood injuries, adolescent health issues, malnutrition in women and children, women’s and children’s mental health, human resources in MNCH, the impact of COVID-19 on MNCH, and international cooperation in MNCH.

This is an introductory course to the field of health economics. Students will learn to apply concepts from introductory and intermediate microeconomics to problems that are faced in health and medical care. The focus is on individual demand for medical care; health insurance; markets for, and institutional features of, health care providers; measuring and pricing quality, and healthcare reform. Through the combination of reading, lectures, class discussions, critical review of papers, and case studies, students without prior coursework in health economics will acquire the core competencies in health economics research.

Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over their health through actions that address the multi-level and complex determinants of health at global, community and individual levels. It covers a wide range of behavioral, social, and environmental interventions that are designed to benefit and protect individual health and quality of life by addressing and preventing the root causes of ill health, not just focusing on treatment and cure. This course introduces the purpose, underpinning theories and methods of international health promotion, and hands-on opportunity to apply this knowledge in the design and evaluation of health promotion activities. Learning Outcomes By the end of this course, students should be able to: 1. Critically review theories and models that inform health promotion practice 2. Understand the broad range of health promotion strategies and the contexts in which they might be applied, including multimedia and social media campaigns, community engagement and community media (theater, psycho drama), behavioral insights, peer education, social marketing, healthy settings, social/media, local and policy advocacy, and healthy public policy or workplace programming 3. Apply health promotion theories and best practices when designing health promotion strategies and interventions targeted at individual, community and/or population levels 4. Recognize key steps in planning, implementing, and evaluating health promotion interventions to enable transfer and scale-up

The goal of this course is to give students the knowledge and skills they need to do empirical research on global health. Students will learn how to construct research questions, conduct narrative literature reviews, use an online reference manager, write a research study proposal, design a survey and interview guide, carry out interviews, conduct fundamental qualitative data analysis for hypothesis testing, and generate and present scientific reports. Students will be able to learn online reference management apps like Zotero. Students will learn how to write a research proposal and make and present analytical reports. Human subject protection in the social, cultural, and technical context of developing countries will be given a lot of attention. Upon completing this course, students will be able to build confidence, skills, and an understanding of common research in public health. Specifically, an undergraduate student can: 1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of literature review, secondary analysis, survey study design, and qualitative study design in public health research. 2. Create an idea for a research proposal in which they do a critical review of existing research, come up with helpful research questions and hypotheses, plan for sampling and survey data collection, and choose the correct statistical methods for testing quantitative hypotheses. 3. Generate an analytic report and a research poster based on his or her analysis and interpretation of quantitative research data. 4. Design, collect, and analyze qualitative data for health-related qualitative research. 5. Demonstrate a good understanding of human subject protection in research.

The course examines the economic, social, technological, and importantly the political dimensions of globalization and how they impact health equity and status, the provision of health care, and global public health. The course will analyze the effects of the global marketplace and its key actors on opportunities and risks for health. It will examine in depth the increasing inequalities, the effects on population health of transnational legal frameworks, and the international institutions, multinational and the civil society players that influence and respond to the globalization process.

The premise of this course is that health systems affect health outcomes. A well-functioning health system decreases the burden of disease and improves i the health status and well-being of the population it serves. The focus of the course is a comparative analysis of the performance of health care systems in a set of developed and developing countries with an emphasis on the latter. It does so by analyzing the main components of a health care system: its governance, its workforce, its financing, its organization, its information and surveillance capability, its use of technology, medical products and vaccines. Basic to this analysis is knowledge of how to measure the performance of a health system (equity, efficiency, quality and patients’ satisfaction) selecting valid, reliable and appropriate indicators. Social determinants also affect health outcomes and must be taken into consideration in any comparative analysis of the health of a population. The analytic approach of the course should expand your understanding of the functioning of health care systems by observing systemic differences rooted in history, culture, social, economic and political factors. It should also increase your knowledge of how and why health systems affect health outcomes. Models of organizing and delivering health care will be discussed and why and how these models have been adopted and adapted by each country. All countries pursue the goal of providing quality health care services efficiently and equitably to the whole population yet a comparative analysis will show that there are many paths to reaching – or only partially reaching - that goal. Countries continuously seek to improve their health systems by introducing or perfecting major reforms or by fine tuning existing health system components. Objectives: Students will be able to: a. to use existing data bases containing health status and health system data to, compare and analyze the characteristics and performance of different health systems b. recognize how history, cultural values and beliefs, and political decisions shape the development and functioning of health care systems c. compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of different health systems (or its components) in selected counties d. understand the different strategies that have been proposed and are being used to determine health priorities and allocate limited health resources e. develop analytical, skills comparing health outcomes resulting from different ways of organizing, managing, financing and providing health care services

This course is taught at the intersection of public health, political science, public policy, and law. The pandemics of HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, MPox, Ebola and beyond have occurred alongside the rapid advance of science and medicine in recent years. In a context of climate crisis, globalization, and rising global inequality, pandemics are occurring with increasing frequency. International cooperation has often broken down and domestic politics have often driven laws and policy in health crises. This has led to complex negotiations about how best to tackle pandemics that touch on some of the hardest social and political issues in our world. A wide variety of lessons have been learned in the fight against AIDS that can be applied to broader pandemics—lessons about the role of law and politics in tackling disease, the effectiveness of health aid, overcoming barriers to affordable medicines, human resources for health, and the role of health systems in tackling or cementing inequality. Despite notable success in the fight against HIV the pandemic continues and, while affected communities vary by region, young women in Africa, LGBT people, sex workers, people who use drugs and prisoners face some of the highest HIV risks. Across all pandemics economic barriers, criminalization, discrimination, deficient governance, high priced medicines, inadequate health systems, and inappropriate legislation continue to militate against global ability to stop pandemics. The course will use comparative politics cases like the United States, South Africa, and Brazil and international relations examples like vaccine nationalism and negotiations over a pandemic treaty to understand how political ideas and actors shape pandemic response. We will explore pandemics from different perspectives (touching on epidemiology, public health, culture, finance, human rights, and public policy) in both a national and international context. It will address issues such as: the drivers of viral infections and shifting epidemiology over the course of a pandemic; public health laws and policies; differential responses to pandemics tied to differences in political institutions; racial and gender dimensions of a pandemic; social and political factors to be addressed for a successful response; the role of civil society and social movements; the global resource needs and resource allocation decisions within countries; and equity and universal access to prevention and treatment.

This course aims to demonstrate the importance of using law (statutory, regulatory, and, where applicable, judge-made), informed by sound technical skills in science, technology, and medicine, to advance objectives relevant for both health, domestic policy, and international relations. Further, it seeks to contextualize how and where law fits in the broader framework for global and domestic health governance. We will examine the wide range of public, private, and civil society players, institutions, and organizations that are involved in shaping, directing, and influencing global health programs, policies, and outcomes.

Global health is “an area for study, research, and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide” [Koplan, 2009]. This capstone course will allow students to apply and reflect on what they have learned during their four-year global health curriculum, which encompasses didactic, scholarly, and practical skills learning. Specifically, global health seniors will work on a project designed to solve a topical global health challenge. The topic will vary by year and will be selected based on current global health priorities, geopolitical, social, and cultural movements, and the latest advanced technology applications in global health.The students will work in teams to systematically conceptualize and design their project plans and implementation procedures. Students will be guided to view the project as a multifaceted undertaking: (i) involving different stakeholders and institutions; (ii) requiring complementary approaches, skills, and knowledge; and (iii) comprising an evolving set of arrangements and relationships. Students will be exposed to a combination of instruction methods including guest lectures, skill-based workshops, group discussions, simulation-based practical exercises, literature reviews, and multiple project milestone presentations.

The undergraduate scholarly paper - plus two courses - option in Global Health provides an alternative course of study for students who cannot be placed abroad due to exceptional circumstances. To graduate with this option, a student must complete all requirements for the major in Global Health, enroll in the 6 credit GLOH 3940 course, and enroll in two additional 3 credit courses. Additional courses should be senior level 3 credit courses (3000 and above), preferably related to the topic of the scholarly paper, and subject to approval by the Department. The senior scholarly paper comprises 6 credits. Students should expect to spend about 18 hours a week on it, mostly in self-directed study. Students will produce a scoping literature review and secondary study and present this project to the class and faculty.

This semester-long course exposes seniors to critical global public health issues, while providing them with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in practice and research. Students are placed for the semester with an organization based within the USA or abroad (e.g. research organizations, international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and health ministries). The students work closely with an on-site preceptor, they observe and contribute to the organization’s activities, and will write a scholarly paper. The scholarly paper may be related to policy, practice, or field-based research. This immersive experience will allow students to gain an in-depth understanding of the context within which the organization operates, the challenges of providing affordable and culturally sensitive services to the populations being served, and how to address these.

This is a one-credit class that will center on structured discussions, led by Professor Monahan, with six global health leaders who will discuss both their personal career journeys and major health issues confronting our world. For each speaker, Professor Monahan will assign teams of two or three students who will prepare for, and help lead, the class conversation. Specifically, each of these lead students will (1) prepare individual briefing emails for all members of the class at least 24 hours in advance of each conversation; (2) pose thoughtful questions for the guest global health leaders; and (3) submit a blog post on the conversation (to be posted on the Global Health Initiative website). Following each session with a speaker, our class will convene for up to 30 minutes to discuss our reactions to the speaker. As a final project for the class, each student will prepare a reaction memo (no more than 1,000 words) that reflects on key themes that emerged in the conversations with global health leaders. At the end of the semester, the class will convene to discuss students’ reflections on the global health leaders with whom we met, the issues that they raised, and the topics we covered.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed “The health impacts of climate and environmental change” as one of its four Global Public Health Priorities. Environment change impacts our life in many ways, including altering food safety, quality of air, and our water and sanitation systems. WHO estimates that 12.6 million people die each year as a result of living or working in an unhealthy environment. There is a spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the exposure to risks, which can be associated with the different development paths taken by countries around the world. The improvements to public health and development observed in the last decades is challenged by climate change and other global changes. The health sector plays an essential role in monitoring environmental risks and changes, and in promoting mitigation and adaptation strategies for human and health security. Global development and increasing technological capacity have made our lives better but have also caused harmful changes to the environment and public health. This interlinkage between the local, regional, and planetary level is relevant to design effective global public health interventions. This course introduces the complex field of global environmental health and explores many existing challenges. It also will examine the concept of planetary health and the relevance to public health of current global issues including climate change, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its health-related Sustainable Development Goals, and the three Rio Conventions on Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Desertification. Students will also learn about effective relationships with other disciplines and sectors, including inter-sectoral approaches in public health.

Relatively little medical research is devoted to alleviating the burden of disease affecting the overwhelming majority of the world's population. At the same time, new pharmaceutical inventions are commercialized at prices that are beyond the reach of most people in developing countries and beyond the public health budgets of the governments of these countries. This course addresses the resulting global inequity with respect to access to medicines. We will review the institutions (such as international organizations, governments, pharmaceutical companies) and market processes that determine the current state of affairs and examine all major transnational initiatives aimed at improving the situation. The tension between the high prices of patented medicines and affordability of life-saving treatment will be examined particularly, though not exclusively, in the context of antiretroviral drugs for HIV/AIDS.

Population is a fundamental dimension of the world, countries, societies, and communities in which we live. Demographic patterns and trends exert their influence on the global burden of disease, and therefore on health care needs, at different levels: namely global, regional, national, and sub-national (including urban-rural differences). To be able to plan for the future of health care at the national level, we need to understand the changing size, rate of growth and distribution of a country’s population as well as its age structure and labor force. And to be able to plan for the future of health care globally, we need to understand how these national and sub-national population dynamics align or differ from those of other nations, especially at regional and global levels. The Demographic module of the course will establish the core demographic measurements of mortality, fertility, migration, and natural and net population growth. The demographic component of the course will also cover other dimensions of demographic change, including urbanization (and slums) patterns, the intermediate and proximate determinants of fertility, key family planning indicators, and population projections. In order for the students to fully grasp these demographic concepts and measurements, the course will explain how to calculate basic demographic indicators and rates with hands-on exercises to be done at home and corrected in class, using a calculator. The Population module of the course will bring the analytical information gathered so far into a larger perspective. With respect to economic development, one class will be devoted to the concept of the demographic dividend. The course will also cover how topics such as major diseases and population policies influence demographic patterns and trends, including how effective population policies can be, and how they relate to the gender and Human Rights agendas. The Global Burden of Disease module will link population dynamics with population-level burdens of disease. It will assess the impact that predicted population patterns (negative growth of the general population, life expectancy increase, alongside an increase in the old-age population group and in migration flows) are expected to have on population health. This module will explore the health impacts of an accelerated epidemiological transition in less developed countries and an increase in aging in more developed countries, among other related disease patterns. The Health Care Delivery module will look at how well countries are responding to changing health care needs. We will focus on how health systems are supporting their population based on current and future burdens of disease as generated by population dynamics. The course will look at progress made to date on adapting health systems to population-derived health needs, and how health care delivery can be anticipated and planned for to gain better health outcomes in medium and long term.

Digital health has quickly moved from innovation to a mainstream tool in the delivery of health services in low- and middle-income countries. While the field has shown considerable promise in being able to transform health systems, many projects still struggle to move beyond the pilot stage and to find broader support in the health system. We will examine the use of digital health tools through the recent experience of COVID-19 and Ebola as well as in the provision of routine health services. This course provides an understanding of the various types of digital health interventions, examples of their use and the considerations of the national and global ecosystems in which these solutions are being implemented. Solutions covered will range from text messaging and basic phone functions to the use of Artificial Intelligence, the internet of things (IOT) and virtual reality. We will learn several of the evaluative frameworks for assessing digital health programs and apply them to analyze programs as well as design new ones. As this is a rapidly evolving field, we will draw from readings from globally recognized bodies such as the World Health Organization as well as project reports, journal articles and webinars.

This interdisciplinary course provides a broad, policy-oriented introduction to the subject of gender as a factor in health and development. It is premised on the view that the gendered organization of societies and economies has important implications for population health, and the development prospects of families, communities and nations. The course begins by exploring important questions related to the distinctions between sex as a biological category and gender as a social category, and the hierarchical relations that gender elicits. Students will consider the particular disadvantage of women and girls, as well as the gender-related challenges faced by men, boys, and sexual and gender minorities. Class discussions will probe the intersections between gender and other overlapping deprivations, such as poverty, race and social exclusion, and their implications for health equity and development. Students will also examine the influence of gender-related inequities on the health and development outcomes of children and the broader economy and society, with attention to issues of gender-based violence, SRHRs, and healthcare access. The course concludes by critically examining global and national policy and program responses, and what is needed moving forward.

With the advance in technologies, the ability to collect data has been explosively enhanced. Additionally, the world is increasingly reliant on collecting and analyzing information to make decisions across disciplines, including health. Because of this, the ability to analyze data and communicate effectively about the data is important for decision-making. This course will provide students with an overview of statistical tools that are most commonly used to process, analyze, and visualize data. Throughout the semester, we will use R to conduct relevant analyses and visualize data with a focus on understanding how to use and interpret output from this software and how to visualize results to ease the interpretation of complex data.

This course aims to demonstrate the importance of using law (statutory, regulatory, and, where applicable, judge-made), informed by sound technical skills in science, technology, and medicine, to advance objectives relevant for both health and international relations. Further, it seeks to contextualize how and where law fits in the broader framework for global health governance. We will examine the wide range of public, private, and civil society players, institutions, and organizations that are involved in shaping, directing, and influencing global health programs, policies, and outcomes. Law can be a powerful instrument for influencing health at the domestic, regional, and global levels. In global health, domestic and international law are interrelated and bi-directional in their impact on health and justice. Innovations in national law and policy can offer a model for other countries and regions. International law influences domestic law and policy. High-impact litigation in one jurisdiction can empower advocates in other jurisdictions to undertake similar action. Despite this, the parameters of the utility of law in global health are not clearly defined, and while some contend that “global health law” has emerged as a unique discipline – at its core, it is an amalgam of the traditional rules of international law and diplomacy combined with domestic law and policymaking. As a result, the ensuing mechanisms and actors that govern global health reflect this fluid relationship between global health, law, and governance. Drawing from the public health framework of the social determinants of health, this course will examine law and governance through the lens of “legal determinants of health,” at both the domestic and the international levels. This approach explains how law functions as a tool to shape global health outcomes, and it explores the practical ways in which decisions are made and implemented within the governing mechanisms of important bilateral relationships (e.g., US government and other countries) and multilateral institutions (e.g., World Health Organization, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria) that impact global health activities and outcomes. We will pay special attention to the leaders, venues, instruments, politics, and processes involved in global health governance; the strategies and tactics that are pursued by those involved in governing mechanisms related to health. This course requires students to read and interpret health related legal instruments, participate in in-class simulations, and craft and present a comprehensive persuasive brief.

This course examines the mental health situation of vulnerable populations worldwide. The focus is on understanding mental disorders, diagnosis and classification, epidemiology and disease burden, cultural influences and stigma, current and emerging health issues, effective strategies and approaches to address these, and the response of governments and of the international community.

Infectious diseases are still the leading cause of death in low income countries and the recent COVID pandemic has impacted all countries. Infectious diseases do not respect borders and they exacerbate health inequities. Understanding the biology, epidemiology, and control of these diseases is more important now than ever. The course will start with a general introduction to the distribution of infectious diseases and to the biological and epidemiological principles underlying their spread. The second part of the course will review all the major approaches to control, looking at specific diseases in more depth. Topics related to adapting program design to different populations, management of programs within the health system, and methods for disease surveillance and evaluation will also be covered. In the final part of the course students will discuss disease specific case studies. Throughout the course students will work in groups to apply the knowledge gained and develop disease control programs that are tailored to specific populations. The following approaches to control will be addressed: control of vector borne diseases, control of sexually transmitted diseases, vaccination and mass drug administration, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), behavior change, control vs elimination and eradication, and one health.

Non-Communicable Diseases in Developing Countries course focuses on the rising burden and increasing challenges associated with the shift in disease burden from infectious and communicable diseases (ICDs) to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as the major causes of mortality, morbidity, and lost years of healthy life. It provides the students with an in-depth understanding of the challenges of NCDs and the policies and strategies to curb them in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The first half of the course will cover the rising global burden of NCDs in terms of total and premature deaths and the leading causes of morbidity. The students will also learn about the environmental, metabolic, and behavioral NCD risk factors such as air pollution, high blood pressure, high glucose level, alcohol, smoking and obesity. In addition, there will be an overview of the rising costs and the macro and micro-economic impact of NCDs at the state and household levels as well as the principles of behavioral economics and its relationship to NCDs. The second half of the course will present a comprehensive framework for the prevention and treatment of NCDs. This framework will cover interventions for behavior change and prevention of NCDs, and the integrated service delivery model for the effective management of NCDs. At the end of the course, there will be a discussion on the role of the government and different sectors in adopting policies to respond to NCDs as well as the different financing models to cover them. Examples from LMICs will be presented.

Community Engagement for Social Change is an enriching, experiential course that melds theoretical knowledge with practical skills, empowering students to lead transformative community-based initiatives. The course delves into the nuances of community-based theories and strategies, the intricacies of acquiring genuine community buy-in, and the practicalities of diagnosing community challenges, crafting action plans, and conducting impactful evaluations. Students will navigate the intricate dynamics of community contexts, learning to facilitate inclusive dialogues and drive collective action, while honing their skills in monitoring, feedback utilization, and continuous improvement of initiatives. A significant emphasis of the course is on fostering cultural competence, ensuring students can effectively engage with diverse communities, respect cultural differences, and employ culturally sensitive approaches to problem-solving. Upon course completion, students will have a holistic understanding of community engagement for social change, underpinned by a keen awareness of cultural diversity and its implications for community work. They will also possess a practical, ready-to-implement community engagement blueprint, tailored to respect and address the unique cultural contexts of the communities they serve

According to UN projections, 68% of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas by 2050, with 90% of this growth taking place in Asia and Africa. This course considers the implications of rapid urbanization for the health and well-being of city residents around the world, with a particular emphasis on the urban poor. The course will introduce urban demographic changes and epidemiological transitions, alongside the physical, social, natural and built environments associated with rapid urban growth that impact health. Discussions and readings will emphasize the complex public health problems and health disparities encountered by various populations within urban settings. Students will learn to identify common legal frameworks for local governance that affect work at the program level, as well as multiple methodologies for designing, implementing and evaluating health and social policy. The goal of this course is to expose students to the complexities of urban growth and development for population health and health equity, and the need for evidence based, locally designed solutions.

The course will investigate the full range of global public health and development outcomes associated with food insecurity and malnutrition in terms of consequences for human populations. Although the course is global in scope, low and middle-income countries are a primary focus as these countries carry disproportionate burden of disease and persisting challenges generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial course sessions will revolve around (i) how the underlying concepts fit together, which terms are used and how they are defined (ii) where the numbers originate, what they mean and how to use them, and (iii) who the primary actors in global food security and nutrition are, and associated issues of multi-sectoral cooperation. Subsequent classes will more intensively examine the basic causes (social, economic, political, environmental) and specific determinants of food security & nutrition, and the spectrum of program responses. Interactive class presentations/discussions and the development of concept notes for hypothetical project interventions will be used to reinforce the course content. Guest Speakers are included both for their expert knowledge and experience, and to provide students with the opportunity to learn more about the organizations they represent.

This course will provide an opportunity for students to become acquainted with the problems related to health emergencies in a global context using a One Health perspective. Concepts and methods related to preparedness, detection, and response to multi-hazards events of international concern will be presented and discussed, including infectious disease epidemics, natural disasters, complex humanitarian situations, and others. Epidemics, natural disasters, and conflicts that generate humanitarian crises are often interconnected and need to be approached with an integrated vision. The emergence of new strains, as it occurred with SARS CoV-1, SARs CoV-2, and the different recombination of influenza A with pandemic potential, are examples of these infectious hazards that threaten public health and have an interface with animals. It is important to understand the One Health concept that recognizes that humans, animals, and the environment are linked and that collaboration across multiple disciplines is fundamental. Students will have the opportunity to discuss several case studies with this vision and to present their analysis of selected global health emergencies from the One Health perspective.

The focus of this course, newborn health and health care, is unique in that it focuses on a topic, that is seldom covered as a separate entity as it is usually combined with maternal or child health. In the process, it invariably loses visibility. It was the high neonatal mortality in low resource countries that prevented them from achieving the necessary reduction in child mortality outlined in Millennium Development Goal 4. We will highlight the need for increased awareness and focus on newborn care not only among health care providers but also among the global health community and graduates of global health programs, to better equip them for potential future service and careers in maternal and child health. We will explore how the more coordinated global newborn health programs commenced as ‘essential newborn care’ with initial focus at the community level; and how with increase in facility births, it further expanded to address the care of the at-risk, small and sick newborn. We will cover practical aspects of special initiatives such as ‘Baby Friendly Hospitals’, ‘Kangaroo Mother Care’, ‘Helping Babies Breathe’ and ‘Family Centered Care’ that have had remarkable results. Emphasis will be laid on WHO’s strong directive on compassionate quality of care. We will review the impact of an international crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, and new innovative methods to improve program implementation.

Human rights are inextricably linked to the achievement of public health policy goals. Human rights under international law, when used as a basis for public health, offer global standards by which to articulate duties and evaluate policies and outcomes under law, shifting the policy debate from political aspiration to legal accountability. This accountability flows from international to federal/national, state and municipal law and policy. This course provides an introduction to the relationship between human rights and health. As a survey course, it ranges broadly over theoretical approaches and concrete issues relating to the realization of human rights, applying a human rights perspective to public health policies, programs, and practices. For students seeking to gain an understanding of human rights, this course will provide an overview of the field of “health and human rights,” giving a foundation for future studies at the intersection of human rights and public health. The field of health and human rights—spanning interconnected legal and public health analysis—has been a powerful force for promoting those human rights that underlie global health. This course seeks to provide a foundational understanding of the field, to (1) explain the norms and principles that define the field, (2) examine the methods and tools for implementing human rights to promote health, (3) apply human rights to leading health threats, and (4) analyze rising human rights challenges in a rapidly globalizing world. The issues addressed throughout the course will reflect the successes of human rights, the challenges of the twenty-first century, and the resilience of humans seeking dignity for themselves and others through expanding rights in global health. This course will teach you how to apply human rights to a wide range of critical issues in global health, exploring the role of human rights as both a safeguard against harm and a catalyst for health promotion. Upon completion, you will have acquired an understanding of the social, economic, cultural, legal, and political processes by which human rights inform health objectives. Where rising threats in an increasingly divided world are challenging the progressive evolution of health-related human rights, this course will provide you with the tools to revitalize human rights at the center of public health practice and secure a future of global health with justice. This detailed understanding of the evolving relationship between global health and human rights will provide a foundation for advancing health policies, programs, and practice.

This independent study course will provide students with additional support as they conduct research and analysis for their honors theses. Students will receive guidance, feedback, and support from their thesis advisor during periodic mentoring sessions.

Students in the honors program bring their research projects to conclusion, complete the written thesis for the faculty committee and make an oral presentation of the results to a seminar group of faculty and students.

A core set of research methods courses that equip students with foundational research skills, including qualitative methods, the application of frameworks and theories of change relevant for monitoring and evaluation of health programs, and broader conceptual skills in problem definition, choice of research question, primary data collection, and research ethics.

This course addresses the application of the techniques of cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis to evaluate a variety of health programs, both in the US and in developing countries. Both theoretical foundations and applications of these techniques in economic appraisal are presented. These techniques are critical for researchers and policymakers in many sectors. For example, health policymakers in both industrialized and developing countries use it to help plan health services, evaluate new technologies, programs, and procedures, or design health insurance benefits. The course uses interactive discussions and computer exercises where students will learn to perform cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses and apply the techniques to a problem of their choice.

The course will explore the potential for innovative approaches and technologies to “disrupt” business as usual approaches to global health, including digital health, mobile technology, and design thinking. These opportunities are often led by the private sector, and are usually client centered rather than driven by traditional health system stakeholders. The course will feature guest lecturers by subject matter experts from academia, the private sector, government agencies, and international organizations.

This block seminar will look at both the broad context and the practical issues related to planning, costing, and budgeting in the health sector. Specifically, the course will examine how governments: • mobilize sufficient financial resources by: (i) estimating program and project costs for given outputs of services; and (ii) identifying the sources and characteristics of funding to provide these services; • allocate these resources consistent with: (i) priorities established in health sector policies, plans, and operational directives; and (ii) management of the budgetary process in a strategic and skillful manner; and • disburse the authorized amounts effectively and efficiently, that is: (i) on the budgeted activities/items; (ii) in accordance with the approved plan to achieve the planned objectives; and (iii) within the proposed time period. The seminar will address the context for planning and budgeting in developing countries, the sources and characteristics of health sector financing, planning, costing considerations and techniques, management of the budgetary process, as well as budget performance and accountability.

This course will explore the history and the science of climate change, public health challenges, global response, and solutions for mitigation and adaptation. It will examine relevant conceptual models such as planetary health, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs, and the Rio Conventions on Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Desertification. In a dynamic interaction, the students will participate in exercises that resemble the scientific panels' work, the political discussions around the climate crisis, and the global health actions.

TBU