The event, however, proved to be anything but mini. With nearly 1,000 participants—or “students”— in attendance, the truly grand event highlighted evidence-based best practices and state-of-the-art information from a variety of technical areas across the Global Health field.

 

The participants, who included GW students, members of the U.S. military, global health professionals, and the general public, could each elect five seminars from a loaded schedule that offered over 50 courses on topics ranging from family planning to HIV treatment to civil-military cooperation to food security.

 

“It is wonderful to see so many people from a wide variety of backgrounds work together and learn from each other," said Chelsea Smart, event coordinator, USAID Bureau for Global Health.  “Each year, the mini-university expands and improves, and this year proved to be our best one yet. I am thrilled with the discussions that were fostered, the connections that were made, and the apparent commitment of our participants to fight health issues all over the world.”

 

Presenting a seminar entitled, “Big Footprints: Disaster or Development in Rebuilding Afghanistan,” Anne Peterson, MD, MPH, research professor of Global Health at GW, challenged her students to propose solutions aimed at resting the plight of women and children in Afghanistan, while also enhancing the relationship between the U.S. and Afghanistan. Further, Dr. Peterson encouraged leaders to “do few things, but do them well.” She noted that a big footprint has big potential, meaning that global health professionals could use the footprint’s potential to transform a country’s health for the better, while at the same time, they must be careful not  to create large expectations resulting in dissatisfaction.

 

Another speaker accustomed to her role as professor was Sangeeta Mookherji, PhD, assistant professor of Global Health at GW, who presented “TB 101: Breathing Fresh Air into an Old Topic.” Dr. Mookherji underscored the continued need to address the global health burden that is Tuberculosis. “There were 9 million new cases of TB in 2006, 95% of which were in the developing world,” she said, noting that 2 million of those cases died from the disease. “TB is really a problem. Not only does it take lives, but entire families and households suffer economic consequences from TB,” she said. 

 

One highlighted speaker of the day was Gloria Steele, assistant administrator for the Bureau for Global Health, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), who presented a brown-bag seminar entitled, “The Promise of the President’s Global Health Initiative.” Steele outlined President Obama’s 6-year, $63 million initiative, which includes a reaffirmed commitment to addressing issues related to HIV/AIDS, a focus on maternal and child health and family planning, and an effort to eliminate selected neglected tropical diseases.

 

The mini-university culminated with a “Knowledge Extravaganza Session,” which intended to summarize the main points of the day in a light-hearted and interactive manner. During this session, each presenter stated his or her “pearls,” or take-away points, to the audience. In hopes of winning one of the prizes for the best pearl, the presenters used rhymes, skits, and dances to make certain that their points were heard.

 

Jim Sherry, director of the George Washington Center for Global Health and past director of biomedical research and technology development with USAID, concluded the event with words to inspire action. “We don’t want to miss this opportunity,” he said, alluding to the new presidential administration. “Ours is not the focus of the cynic, it is the focus of the opportunity. By our disposition and training, we are not always the ‘yes we can’ gang. But nor are we the ‘no we can’t’ gang. We are the ‘yes we will, yes we have, and yes we’ll do it again’ gang.”