Advanced Techniques in Global Health

Global health has long been shaped by broader national interests and geopolitical forces. Global health practitioners must be able to adapt to an ever-changing landscape. Many in the sector are scrambling to do just that as resource flows and collaborative structures that have been relied upon for decades have been diminished in recent years and calls to redefine global public health reverberate. At its heart, however, are a set of essential practice activities that equip the global health workforce to deliver effective and equitable programs across borders and in challenging settings. This course builds on students’ foundational global health knowledge and experience with an emphasis on skills and techniques for successful public health practice in global settings. It will address competencies for the advanced certificate in global health as well as those defined in WHO’s 2024 Global Competency and Outcomes Framework for the Essential Public Health Functions. Units in this course are organized around 5 key domains from this framework: collaboration, decision making, community-centeredness, evidence-informed practice and communication. In each unit, students will learn and apply global health frameworks, as well as critical historical and theoretical perspectives in a series of guided readings, interactive lectures, asynchronous learning modules, in-class discussions, individual and group presentations, and case-based practice simulations where students apply graduate level advanced techniques in real-world global health settings.