Venturing beyond the classroom: Navigating the global health corridors in Geneva

About the author

David Castellanos is a Physican and an international development health specialist with expertise in global health, healthcare management, policy analysis and strategic planning, health reform, nutrition and pandemic preparedness. In 2023, he was awarded with the MSc Global Health Leadership Director’s Award to the programme jointly run by the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences and the Saïd Business School. He currently serves as USAID’s Health Team Lead in Honduras working on health system’s pandemic preparedness. He holds a MSc in Health Services Management and is an active member of the Oxford Global Health Society, the Georgetown University Innovation and Leadership Latin American Program Alumni Board representative, and graduate associate professor at the Catholic University in Honduras. 

leadership

/ˈliːdəʃɪp/

LEE-duh-ship

The ability to lead; the position of a group of people leading or influencing others within a given context; the action or influence necessary for the direction or organization of effort in a group undertaking.

Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “leadership (n.),” July 2023

In early July, I joined a vibrant group of health disciplines leaders from the University of Oxford Global Health Society (OGHS) for a three-day trip to Geneva to visit the international health organisations. The delegation included students mostly from the graduate programs at the Nuffield Department of Medicine, the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, and Saïd Business School, including our MSc Global Health Leadership programme. The OGHS leadership envisioned a very perceptive visit to some of the most influential international global health organisations in Geneva including The Global Fund, GAVI-the Vaccine Alliance, UNAIDS, the World Health Organization (WHO), Unitaid and the International Organization for Migration (IOM - UN Migration). 

As a MSc Global Health Leadership student, I was curious to explore the trending global health priorities for these international organisations, and to discover their leadership approaches to lead change on the health challenges around the world. The visits turned out very insightful to discuss current successes and challenges in global health, for example, at GAVI we learned about the efforts being made to expand access to vaccine and immunisation services to prevent mortality in children and population in general. Then, at The Global Fund we were impressed about the successful interventions made to prevent 21 million global deaths from HIV by the implementation of preventive interventions and effective treatment with ARV, and similar outcomes were achieved for tuberculosis and malaria.

On the second day, at UNAIDS we learned from the work to establish policy and inclusion of communities in the work to promote HIV care. Later that day, at the WHO we discussed about the work on strengthening of health systems prioritising on primary healthcare, the efforts in pandemic preparedness, digital health, and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and visited the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC). On the third day, UNITAID discussed about their health projects to improve health outcomes in the global south that resonated with the OGHS group. Finally, at our visit to IOM the human rights perspective were at the centre of the dialogue for migrants and displaced populations to increase their access to basic and equitable healthcare.

During our discussions, healthcare financing emerged as a common concern. We engaged in thought-provoking conversations about improving the effectiveness of health system financing and addressing the gap in government investment for population health. As global health leaders, we grapple with the question of how to sustainably implement global health initiatives despite limited financing. Also, to recognise that developed and developing countries have different healthcare financing gaps, and that in a globalised world these organisations are a safeguard for low-and-middle-income-countries access to healthcare services including human resource training, medicines, technology and scientific research.

Another highlight of this trip was to discover Oxford’s strong alumni network that contributed to walk us through these organisations and learn from their leading work in global health. A special thanks to Augustine Agyeman-Duah and Adda Faye, Chief Financial Officer at the Global Fund, Michael Besong at GAVI, and the Honduras Permanent Mission Ambassador in Geneva Marcela Arias Moncada who dedicated some time to exchange experiences and interests.

For my group of colleagues from the MSc Global Health Leadership programme Sahar Ahmed, Bhavini Gohel, Fatima Ndanusa, Sara Turcotte, Maju Brunette and myself, the trip to Geneva resulted in a captivating experience to take a closer look to the international health organisations that lead global health policies and initiatives. It was a good complement to the MSc Global Health Leadership programme that we would recommend having this experience for the whole cohort.

This trip has solidified my existing perspectives on global health leadership, while also broadening my horizons to explore other related fields. I’m excited to continue learning at the University of Oxford from the exceptional global health leaders. A very special thanks to OGHS’ leadership Francis Ayomoh, Daniela Krouzkova, and Maju Brunette for their dedicated work to organise this incredible visit.