DLSPH welcomes global health powerhouse Nísia Trindade Lima to launch new Centre for Global Health
February 28/2020
Global health is public health.
With tremendous breadth and expertise in a diverse set of global health issues, DLSPH faculty, alumni and collaborators have cultivated strong partnerships with leading global institutions and public health leaders.
As the Office of Global Public Health Education and Training transitions into DLSPH’s new Centre for Global Health, these partnerships and collaborations will be strengthened and the School will sharpen its focus in the global health space.
“All high-performing top schools of public health also have a strong presence in global health,” said Adalsteinn Brown, Professor and Dean of DLSPH.
“The School will continue to support individual excellence, while the Centre focuses on enhancing cohesion of global health education and research, and leveraging School-wide strengths in public health and health systems.”
The Centre will be led by Associate Professor Erica Di Ruggiero and become a hub for supporting global health work in Toronto. It will create an integrated program of global health education and scholarship that engages students and leverages global health impact across the University and broader Toronto community.
“Our main focus is to achieve global impact that is built on the principles of equity, engagement and excellence,” said Di Ruggiero, global public health expert whose own work explores population health interventions to address health inequities and how evidence shapes global policy agendas.
“Canadians can learn from low- and middle-income countries and there’s a need for opportunities that maximize reciprocal learning through mutually beneficial research and education partnerships,” she said.
Di Ruggiero explains that the Centre’s early efforts will support a major interdisciplinary research and education initiative in universal health coverage through equitable health systems strengthening.
“As part of one of the global Sustainable Development Goals, U of T is committed to supporting global universal health coverage activities and the DLSPH has the opportunity to punch above its weight in this area,” said Di Ruggiero.
To celebrate the official launch of the Centre for Global Health, internationally recognized scholar Nísia Trindade Lima will give a lecture about universal health care coverage.
Dr. Lima is President of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in Brazil. Her talk, “Brazil’s Unified Health System: history and perspectives,” will discuss Brazil’s unified health system and the difficulties of implementing a universal health system in a society marked by deep social inequalities and challenges around health and democracy.
All are welcome to register for the event on February 28 at 3:00 p.m. in HSB 610, which will be followed by a reception, and join the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #GlobalHealthDLSPH.