Founded in 2001, the University of Virginia's Center for Global Health (CGH) builds on a 23-year program in Geographic Medicine. The CGH promotes the engagement of faculty and students in the development of multidisciplinary research and service projects that address global health issues. Through existing collaborations with international colleagues and institutions, CGH annually sponsors over 40 UVa students in mentored global health research and service projects abroad. In addition, 8-10 international research fellows, competitively selected from our collaborating institutions, come to UVa each year for training and research with UVa faculty mentors. Over 80 such fellows have now trained at UVa, and 100% have returned to their home countries to help build collaborative programs that include trans-university Centers for Global Health in Brazil, Philippines, Ghana, and South Africa. In the last four years, the number of global health-related courses and activities at UVa has exploded. Both undergraduate and professional students have formed interest groups related to global health, and student demand for information, career advice, and opportunities in global health has grown markedly. We therefore recognize the need for a Framework Program in Global Health to build a sustainable strategy to incorporate global health into curricular offerings across the university. We have seen how individual courses can develop and succeed. The Framework Program will reinforce links between existing courses and programs, institutionalize and formalize credit for work in global health, including the development of degree programs, and foster the creation of new opportunities for collaboration within the University and between our international partners. Our Framework Program will bring together three principal partners at UVa: the Schools of Medicine and Nursing, and the College of Arts and Sciences. It will include 5 components: 1) A Global Health Curriculum Working Group, coordinated by the Center for Global Health, to convene 8-10 faculty members from the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Arts and Sciences to plan and implement global health curricula and coordinate participation by their respective schools. 2) The Working Group will develop multidisciplinary global health curricula for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students across the university. 3) A University-wide conference schedule engaging UVa faculty, international fellows, and students in global health issues will invite visiting scholars from collaborating international institutions. 4) Expanded global health career planning services through website resources, internship placement, and mentoring from former global health scholars, fellows, and faculty contacts. 5) A coordinated, university-wide plan to raise funds to sustain global health programs at UVa.
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