The Architecture of Decolonial Partnerships in University Global Health Program Development

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• International Development
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• Limited literature exists on establishing university global health programs in high-income countries (HICs) concurrently with partners in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
• Programs lacking LMIC university partners often face challenges in developing sustainable, ethical, and anticolonial community and governmental partnerships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review literature on the challenges of simultaneous development of university global health programs and community/governmental partners.
• To describe the creation and evolution of the Office of Global Health at Rush University and its partner NGO, Community Empowerment in the Dominican Republic.
• To provide guiding principles for establishing equitable and sustainable global health partnerships.

Main Methods:

• Literature review on contemporaneous development of global health programs and partnerships.
• Case study detailing the establishment of Rush University's Office of Global Health and its partner NGO.
• Description of the ongoing relationship, successes, and opportunities.

Main Results:

• Simultaneous creation fosters equal power dynamics and customized programs leveraging partner strengths.
• Mutual growth in scope and impact is facilitated by synchronized development.
• Challenges include partner identification, sustainable funding, quality assurance, and promoting anticolonial practices.

Conclusions:

• Developing university global health programs and partner NGOs simultaneously leads to commensurate growth and equitable relationships.
• The Rush University and Dominican Republic partnership exemplifies mutual benefit and shared success.
• Strategies for establishing strong, equitable global health collaborations are outlined.