Global Health: Sharing Lessons and Learning about our Role in the Future

The International Health Office is dedicated to enriching the lives of faculty, staff, students and the public through the development and enhancement of international and local experiences and perspectives targeting global health issues. Canadians care about the health of people in developing countries. The recent high level of Canadian engagement in the Haiti earthquake response and in the G8/G20 discussions on child and maternal health represent this interest and commitment. In the face of health and medical needs, Canadian-supported interventions seem morally just and appropriate. Three cafés are organized to take us through a journey of global health in Nova Scotia and abroad. The first café will give participants a chance to explore perspectives on the ethics of "doing good" and engage in a discussion about what Canadians can do in global health. The second café will begin to identify the linkages between the global village and the lessons that Nova Scotians need to learn and apply in our own health systems that must be identified, discussed and understood by the public. The third café in this series will focus on the underestimated role of universities within global health. This café will serve as a useful means for informing the public about university research and its role in global health, while also strengthening the relationship between the global health research community and the general public.