Building a Generation of UHC Champions
By Daniela Terminel, CEO, Global Health Corps
“Without young people at the table, world leaders will continue to struggle to achieve their global health targets.” -Arush Lal, 2017–2018 Global Health Corps fellow
At Astana two weeks back, health leaders and advocates from around the world “highlight[ed] our collective assets (political will, knowledge, technology, and people), before detailing the challenges and actions required” to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Ultimately, it is people — and especially young people, who now comprise over half of the world’s population — who will be charged with gaining and applying knowledge, galvanizing political will, and leveraging technologically to transform health systems in the coming decades. What better investment is there than to build a new generation of UHC champions to lead us into a brighter future, where the nation or zip code into which you are born does not determine your fate?
The Global Health Corps (GHC) community is comprised of that generation of champions. The first time I met a group of GHC fellows, I was interviewing for the role of GHC’s CEO. In my excitement, I asked them way too many questions about their backgrounds, their passions, and the work they were about to embark on in the coming year. I don’t recall the details of their responses, but I do remember that I walked away absolutely certain of one thing: their deeply held conviction that health is a human right will change the world as we know it.
While the global health sector has made important advances over the past few decades, health systems are still far from delivering for all. Globally, we are not on track to meet the health-related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. In many parts of the world, health systems remain weak and under-funded. Even in the United States, where medical technology and resources exist in abundance, deep health inequities persist, fissuring across lines of race, socioeconomic status, immigration status, and more. Progress in saving and improving lives is at risk of stalling or even reversing if we fail to change course in the next few years.
It’s becoming clear that investing in better, more connected, and more diverse leaders is the course correct we need to save and improve lives. When the Ebola outbreak struck West Africa in 2014, thousands died from the highly contagious disease. The deaths of those individuals were not inevitable — they were the result of a toxic combination of broken health systems and a lack of leaders with the necessary cultural humility, systems acumen, and bias for collaboration.
This is the type of leadership we’re building at GHC. For the past ten years, we’ve developed the most diverse talent pipeline in global health. Today, our global community is 1000-strong, working across 230 organizations at various points of influence within health systems. As we look ahead to the next decade and prepare to scale, we know that now more than ever, effective and connected leaders are the greatest lever for change in global health. It’s time for the global community to dedicate our collective resources to equipping them to lead us to a world where UHC is a reality.
Daniela Terminel is the CEO of Global Health Corps (GHC). GHC is a leadership development organization building the next generation of health equity leaders around the world. All GHC fellows, partners, and supporters are united in a common belief: health is a human right. Want to get involved? Check out these great opportunities to support the health equity movement and consider joining us as a fellow or partner when applications open later this year! And don’t forget to connect with us on Twitter / Instagram / Facebook.
