Poverty, disasters & health against all odds
[Fall 2013 Centennial issue] The most powerful influences on population health are not the medical interventions that diagnose and treat disease. Rather, they are the broad social forces—war or peace, poverty or financial security, political oppression or fundamental…
Bringing aid to the world's most dangerous places
[Fall 2013 Centennial issue] January 1992. The scene in Mogadishu was as close as it comes to hell on earth. As Somalia’s civil war gathered force, “the fighting was a combination of direct slaughter and indiscriminate firing of…
Fighters for equity
[Fall 2013 Centennial issue] Tackling two-tier health care With the creation of the Medicare and Medicaid programs in 1965, the United States began its first large-scale experiment with a formal national health system. Almost overnight, it began subsidizing…
At India’s Kumbh Mela, world’s largest gathering, researchers document public health concerns
February 12, 2013 -- Tens of millions of people are gathering for the Kumbh Mela, a 55-day Hindu religious festival currently underway in Allahabad, India. The event happens every 12 years, with a massive temporary city constructed to accommodate…
Can doing good be done better?
[ Spring/Summer 2012 ] Better-trained aid workers, closer coordination among relief agencies, and a bigger dose of humility while working in unfamiliar cultures would help ensure that the billions of dollars spent each year on humanitarian assistance are…
Preventing young mothers from dying—and the ripple effects when they do
[ Spring/Summer 2012 ] When a mother dies during pregnancy or childbirth in sub-Saharan Africa, the impact on the child or children left behind—and on the larger family—can be devastating. Studies suggest that children’s risk of dying before age 10…
Global health and development topic of TEDx event at HSPH
April 13, 2012 Students and other members of the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) community gathered in the Leadership Studio in Kresge to watch a global simulcast from Berlin sponsored by TEDx, an offshoot of the popular…
Research team corroborates Darfur abuse allegations
After reviewing and analyzing medical records, researchers say they’ve corroborated allegations by Darfur civilians who say they were tortured, sexually assaulted, or otherwise abused by Sudanese government or Janjaweed forces in the Darfur region of Sudan. The research…
Harvard School of Public Health hosts seminar on school's contributions to maternal health
November 16, 2011 -- When Aparna Chandrasekhar traveled from the United States to India at age 13 to visit family, she spent time shadowing her aunt, an obstetrician. Chandrasekhar, who’s working toward a master of science in global…
A humanitarian academy at HSPH
[ Fall 2011 ] Plans are underway to create a new Humanitarian Academy at Harvard School of Public Health, the first global center dedicated to training and teaching the next generation of humanitarian leaders. Approximately 240,000 humanitarian workers worldwide provide…