The overall aim of this proposed three-year project is to develop a Global Health program that is based on a multidisciplinary educational framework for addressing African health issues in the context of georesource management (oil, gas, and mineral extraction), environmental protection, social and cultural identity, and sustainable development. The long-term goal is to train a new cadre of health scientists and practitioners as well as mining and petroleum engineers to holistically address the root causes of poverty, inequity, and disease in Africa. The specific goals of this project are to: 1) design new methodological approaches to framing and conducting context-based health training, research, and intervention in different cultural settings;2) develop a multidisciplinary graduate curriculum to prepare students and faculty to use complex health impact assessments within a broad framework of sustainable resource extraction and development;4) strengthen AESEDA as an institutional base for sustainable Global Health training programs in Africa and the US;and 5) develop RO1 proposals for comprehensive transdisciplinary approaches focusing on georesource management as an intervention to improve health conditions in Africa. This application brings together shared and complementary expertise among the partner institutions in the United States, Nigeria, and South Africa. The project will be coordinated through the Penn State's Alliance for Earth Sciences, Engineering and Development in Africa (AESEDA) and will involve Penn State faculty from the Colleges of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Health and Human Development, the College of Medicine at Hershey, and the Population Research Institute. We will rely on a combination of initial workshops in Africa as well as distant learning and communication tools to incorporate all stakeholder perspectives and expertise from the African partner institutions.
