Working Towards a Decolonized, Longitudinal, and Equitable Global Health Training and Partnerships Program

Area of Science:

• Global Health Education
• Social Justice in Medicine
• Health Equity

Background:

• Global health education programs have expanded but often neglect the impacts of colonialism and racism in medicine.
• The Arrupe Global Scholars and Partnerships Program (AGSPP) was developed to address these gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the AGSPP, a five-year MD-MPH global health equity and partnership program.
• To showcase a social justice and innovative approach to medical education and global health.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the applied social-ecological model as the educational framework.
• Implemented a training and partnership program grounded in decolonized principles and global health equity.
• Developed a three-pillar program and monitoring, learning, and evaluation (MEL) platform.

Main Results:

• Pillar 1: A five-year MD-MPH program focused on decolonizing, accompaniment, and social justice.
• Pillar 2: Equitable, power-balanced international partnerships with institutions in Rwanda, Nepal, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic.
• Pillar 3: Collaborative engagement with local communities to address their concerns and solutions.

Conclusions:

• The AGSPP's three-pillar framework promotes solidarity, justice, and deconstructs neocolonialism.
• The program advances health equity and social justice through equitable collaboration between the Global South and North.
• AGSPP aims to cultivate future justice-oriented leaders and serve as a model for other global health programs.