What to expect at Global Health Week

Global Health Week will showcase McGill as a Canadian centre of excellence for ground-breaking global health research, advocacy and training, and the home of the next generation of leaders in the field

Running from May 16 to 20, Global Health Week is a key signature event of McGill’s Bicentennial celebrations.

The Bicentennial is an opportunity to bring the McGill global health community together to celebrate the University’s legacy in global and public health and to highlight the tradition of excellence and collaboration across all McGill campuses, affiliated hospitals and research institutes, all the while raising the profile of our partners that continue to make a difference in Montreal, and around the world.

Built around the overarching theme Providing Solutions to Global Challenges,’ Global Health Week is comprised of many events that showcase McGill University as a Canadian centre of excellence for ground-breaking global health research, advocacy and training and the home of the next generation of leaders in the field.

The Annual Victor Dzau and Ruth Cooper-Dzau Distinguished Lecture in Global and Population Health

On Wednesday, May 18, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the McGill Faculty Club Ballroom, join us in welcoming Agnes Binagwaho, Vice Chancellor of The University of Global Health Equity, as the speaker for the 2022 Victor Dzau and Ruth Cooper-Dzau Distinguished Lecture in Global and Population Health. This lecture aims to recognize outstanding leaders, while celebrating the scholarship that underscores the field’s commitment to education, research, and service to our local and global communities.

Prof. Agnes Binagwaho is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity, an initiative of Partners in Health focused on changing the way health care is delivered around the world by training the next generation of global health professionals to deliver more equitable, quality health services for all. She is a Rwandan pediatrician who has served the health sector in various high-level government positions, first as the Executive Secretary of Rwanda’s National AIDS Control Commission, then as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, and then for five years as Minister of Health. She is a Senior Lecturer at Harvard and serves as Senior Advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization and is a member of the United States National Academy of Medicine and a fellow of the African Academy of Sciences.

In 2018, the School of Population and Global Health launched the Victor Dzau and Ruth Cooper-Dzau Distinguished Lecture in Global and Population Health. Thanks to Dr. Dzau and Mrs. Cooper-Dzau, the global health community gathers on a yearly basis to celebrate the change-makers in global and population health.

Unlocking the Potential Towards Healthy Food Systems 

On Wednesday, May 18, from 10 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the McGill Centennial Center Ballroom, visit Macdonald campus to hear about McGill students’ research and commitment in promoting a healthy and sustainable food environment for a growing world population.

McGill’s Margaret A Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security in affiliation with McGill’s Global Health Community is organizing a mini-symposium as part of Global Health Week. The theme is “Unlocking the Potential Towards Healthy Food Systems” to stimulate collaboration for the synthesis of affordable and effective strategies towards the improvement of food system’s sustainable practices, based on tracking the social, economic, and environmental drivers for global health and well-being. This event will encourage alliances among different affiliates to create collaborative solutions for top issues spanning humanitarian crisis, colonization, climate change, health inequalities, socio-economic disparities, poor governance and unaffordability of nutritious food supply.

Wondering how to visit Macdonald campus for this event? There will be a private bus roundtrip between both McGill campuses – 9 a.m. pick-up at Roddick Gates on the downtown campus and leaving Macdonald campus at 3 p.m. to return. A free lunch will be served during the event.

Student Perspectives

On Tuesday, May 17, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m., at the McGill Faculty Club Ballroom, students will get the chance to speak to their peers and answer prompts on what decolonizing global health looks like. Students engaged in global health education and research at McGill University come from many disciplinary backgrounds, and in this speed-networking-style event, student are given the opportunity to exchange their ideas and learnings on what constitutes decolonization of global health. This event is created by students, for all students who are interested in global health research and practice, and jointly presented by the Canadian Association for Global Health (CAGH) McGill student chapter and McGill Global Health Programs.

Lasting Legacy of the McGill-Ethiopia Community Health Project

On Wednesday, May 18, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., at the McGill Faculty Club Ballroom, join us for a panel to reflect upon the legacy and impact of the McGill-Ethiopia Community Health Project, which was carried out in several phases in the 1980s-1990s. The event will feature an expert panel of global health researchers who were closely involved in the project.

Furthermore, McGill Health Programs will debut a screening of a 5-minute mini-documentary encapsulating the Ethiopia Community Health Project.

Building Global Partnerships in Supporting Surgical Capacity in LMICs

On Thursday, May 19, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m., at the McGill Faculty Club Ballroom, the McGill Centre for Global Surgery presents a session focuses on the importance of strong partnerships in further enhancing surgical capacity, including emergency and trauma care in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We will have discussions with our partnerships including students, discussing how these partnerships, and local leadership have contributed to improved regional surgical capacity. Presented by the McGill Centre for Global Surgery.

Moderated by McGill surgeons Dan Deckelbaum and Tarek Razek, this session will focus on the importance of strong partnerships in further enhancing surgical capacity, including emergency and trauma care, in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and will feature presentations by experts from Senegal, Tanzania, Palestine, Mongolia, Ukraine and Nepal.

To register for any of these events, see the program for Global Health Week.