Global Health
Global health has emerged as a central concern in development and international affairs. The relationship between health and development is at least threefold: health has an intrinsic societal goal, health as a necessary input for human and economic development, and health as an indicator of society's progress toward sustainable development. Health is also a fundamental aspect of international affairs: health is a central component of human security, an outcome of global governance processes in and outside the health sector (e.g. security, trade, investment, migration, environment) in an increasingly interdependent world, and a potential threat to international peace and economic stability.
Studying global health also sheds light on broader aspects of development and international affairs: global health has been a site of growing investment, comprising a tenth of the global economy; social and technological experimentation that has generated innovative approaches to addressing public challenges; and an area filled with a dense network of institutions, states and non-state actors. Although health has traditionally been framed as a medical or technical issue, it is increasingly recognised that protecting global health requires also taking into consideration governance, politics, culture, history, law and economics.
This specialisation cluster will provide students with an understanding of global health, from the "micro" level of individuals and communities, the "meso" level of countries and organisations, and the "macro" level of the global system. The specialisation will train students to analyse and address global health challenges through courses that explore the historical development of global health, its legal and normative frameworks, the actors and policy processes that govern it, and the social and technological developments that drive it.