Global Health

Your gift helps train our providers and learners to serve to the communities in other parts of the world by strengthening their health care capabilities through education, patient care and research.

 MISSION

Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Global Health Program facilitates efforts that contribute to global health by faculty, staff, residents, students and community partners of the school.

BACKGROUND

The global health program was initiated in 2009 by Dr. Janak Koirala and other SIU faculty members after Dr. Koirala returned from a global health workshop organized by American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH). They gathered a list of SIU and community faculty members interested in global health and overseas health care work. They also decided to start a regular “global health forum” on a quarterly interval.

Every year SIU SOM faculty, students and other staff travel to countries including Nicaragua, Honduras, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Cambodia, Haiti, Gambia, Nepal, India, Philippines and other countries to provide health care. Partners in the community including UIS, HSHS Mission Outreach, African Medical Foundation and IHDN (International Health and Development Network), want SIU to take a leadership role to help their efforts for global health. Faculty members are either conducting or looking for opportunities to do research in overseas countries such as South Africa, Ghana and The Gambia, but they need the structure of an official coordinating office within the school. There are also many opportunities for developing partnership and collaborative relationship with overseas medical schools.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

The ultimate goal of the program is to provide service to the communities in needy parts of world by strengthening their health care capabilities through education, training, patient care and research.