“Public health is a relay. I have done my race, so I would like to pass my baton onto you, because there is a lot of unfinished business,” Robert Kezaala, MD, MPH, told a rapt audience at the Global Citizenship Roundtable. Hosted by the Master of Science in Global Medicine program, some 200 members of the Keck School of Medicine of USC community attended the Aug. 22 event to learn about global health challenges and share their own stories.

Kezaala, a senior health adviser at UNICEF, was keynote speaker and discussed obstacles to fighting infectious diseases worldwide. He emphasized that unifying stakeholders is critical to effective health policy.

In its fifth year, the event reflected on the impact of health from local settings, like remote villages, to global, such as multinational childhood immunization plans. The event allows peers to share insights from studying in Denmark, Panama, South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania.

Recipients of the 2016-2017 Dhablania and Kim Family Global Medicine Fellowship presented findings from research in Uganda, Panama, Mongolia, Cambodia, India, Tanzania, Armenia, Cameroon and Nicaragua, which examined how genocide and lack of access to care and health education affect treatment of communicable and chronic diseases, among other topics.

“Beyond showcasing the scholarship of our students, this event highlights the importance of sharing lessons we have learned with one another to better inform those who will, through Keck School education and training, help and heal others, at home and around the world,” stated Elahe Nezami, PhD, associate dean for graduate affairs (undergraduate, masters and professional programs) and Global Medicine program director at the Keck School.

For information about future events and opportunities, go to msgm.usc.edu.

— Ryan Seuffert