Yale Hosts 2013 Global Health Corps Training

GHLI executive director Michael Skonieczny and GHC co-founder Barbara Bush

For the third year in a row, the latest class of Global Health Corps (GHC) fellows came to Yale University for a two-week training program preparing them for year-long placements with health organizations around the globe. The GHC was co-founded by Barbara Bush (Yale ’04) and provides fellowships for young professionals who tackle health issues across the globe. This year’s class of 106 fellows hails from 16 countries, and will serve with 44 health organizations in in Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and select cities in the U.S. During the two week training, GHC fellows had the opportunity to hear presentations from global health leaders, participate in group discussions and attend professional development workshops.

During the training, the fellows listened to Yale lecturer Mark Schoofs, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and senior editor at ProPublica. In his talk, “Journalism and Global Health: How to Make Your Voice Heard,” Schoofs discussed the relationship between journalists and activists and explained how journalism can help spread important global health messages. He relayed his own experience reporting on AIDS in Africa and noted the power investigative journalism can have in the field of global health. Schoofs encouraged GHC fellows to, “find ways in which you can advocate for resources to supplement health systems and global health programs.”

In Barbara Bush’s introduction of GHLI executive director, Michael Skonieczny, she thanked him and the GHLI for providing a home for the GHC training and the GHLI’s ongoing partnership and support of their efforts. The fellows were welcomed by Mike and heard a presentation on leadership from GHLI faculty director Elizabeth Bradley, Ph D.  Bradley explained how leadership is “the process of engaging others to achieve group objectives,” and encouraged GHC fellows to think about the relationship between the leadership role and the followership role, and how they complement each other. GHLI hopes to continue working closely with GHC as a partner in the fight for global health equity.