Making Connections: Health, Climate & Equity

media release: With its 2022 Global Health Symposium, “Making Connections: Health, Climate & Equity,” the University of Wisconsin-Madison Global Health Institute (GHI) also marks its 10th anniversary.

The April 19 celebration, co-hosted by the Office of Global Health in the School of Medicine and Public Health, will bring together faculty, staff, clinicians and students who will share their global health work with the campus and wider communities. The evening will also celebrate GHI’s 10 years of working with UW-Madison’s 21 schools, colleges and divisions—inspiring joint projects, educating tomorrow’s leaders and promoting research and outreach to improve well-being.

Plans are to hold this year’s symposium in-person at the Health Science  Learning Center (HSLC) with live-stream video available. Watch here for the registration link. The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. with registration, followed by the keynote address and panel discussion. Posters will be available for viewing beginning at noon in the HSLC Atrium through the close of the reception at 8:30 p.m. All plans are subject to change if needed to ensure everyone’s safety during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Jalonne White-Newsome, Ph.D., M.S., founder and CEO of Empowering a Green Environment and Economy (EGE2), is this year’s speaker. She has worked in environmental philanthropy, state government, non-profit, grassroots, academia and private industry. She established EGE2 to transform communities through the development of people-centered solutions, tackling issues including climate change, public health, environmental injustice and advancing racial equity. She also created and implemented the Climate Resilient and Equitable Water Systems Initiative at the Kresge Foundation and served as the first director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice’s federal policy office.

This year’s symposium will also feature a panel discussion on health and equity across sectors, including mental health, climate and vaccine availability. Faculty, staff, students and clinicians will present their global health projects during a poster fair, and the evening will conclude with a gala reception to celebrate GHI’s 10^th anniversary.

What is GHI?

The Global Health Institute was established in 2011 to bring together global health educational and research efforts on campus. It especially grew out of the Center for Global Health, organized in 2005 by leaders from international studies and the health science schools. In its 10 years, GHI has awarded nearly $2 million in grants and awards to faculty, staff, clinicians and students, leading to new collaborations, extramural grants and progress in areas as diverse as Indigenous wisdom, improved food systems, disaster management and emergency medical care in low-income settings.

The Institute’s impact can also be measured in how it has convened unexpected partners to launch successful interdisciplinary programs, from the Certificates in Global Health and 4W (Women & Well-being in Wisconsin & the World) to the Planetary Health Graduate Scholars program and the initiative for Health-Oriented Transportation.

This will be the 17^th Global Health Symposium.

If you need accommodation to participate in this event, please email globalhealth@ghi.wisc.edu or call 608-265-9299. All accommodation requests should be made no less than two weeks before the event. We will attempt to fulfill requests made after this date but cannot guarantee they will be met.