Global Leadership and Problem-Solving - Public Health & Philanthropy

Catalog description

Globally, more than half of all children under age five who die of pneumonia, diarrhea, measles, HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria reside in Africa. More generally, by many public health indices, including rates of life-threatening infectious diseases, access to healthcare delivery, life expectancy, and rates of foodborne illnesses, Africa faces huge and still largely unmet public health challenges. Millions of people in Africa die each year from diseases that can be prevented by access to certain medicines and mitigated by participation in particular programs. Focusing mainly on malaria in Africa, and with a special case-based focus on Tanzania, during the first half of the course, students describe, analyze, and evaluate multiple and competing anti-malaria approaches and programmatic initiatives. Philanthropy is a huge part of the story behind efforts to address global public health challenges and other major and persistent threats to human well-being. But what, exactly, is "philanthropy," and what economic and other factors matter the most in determining its extent and efficacy in meeting unmet human needs? During the latter half of this course, students explore the economics of global philanthropy, concluding with a case study on philanthropy in India.