Annual Havey Institute for Global Health Dinner Celebrates Healthcare Work Around the World
September 25, 2024
On September 25, more than 275 donors, partners, and friends gathered at the 17th Annual Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health Benefit Dinner to support the institute’s numerous initiatives addressing healthcare disparities around the world.
“Better health and better health systems lift populations out of poverty and into more productive lives,” Robert J. Havey, ’80 MD, ’81, ’83 GME, said during remarks at the dinner. “Improving global health provides a great return on investment and is one of the keys to enhancing the economic and social stability of the world.”
Dr. Havey, deputy director of the institute, told attendees that the Havey Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is uniquely positioned to address healthcare needs that are only growing as the worldwide population increases to an estimated 10 billion by the end of the century. The population is also aging and presenting further dispositions to some of the toughest health problems, including cancer, diabetes, heart conditions, and neurological disease.
The Havey Institute for Global Health had a busy year leading hundreds of projects across its 9 centers and, at the dinner, Dr. Havey announced the creation of a new Center for Global Pediatric Care, established in partnership with faculty from Lurie Children’s Hospital. This 10th center builds upon the institute’s impressive footprint spanning 500 members and more than 50 partner sites and collaborations around the world. Additionally, in spring 2025, the institute plans to establish its first on-the-ground collaboration hub on the campus of Stellenbosch University in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Dinner attendees also were treated to a short documentary covering the Havey Institute for Global Health’s work over the past year and narrated by acclaimed broadcast journalist Bill Kurtis, who also emceed the event. Leadership from Northwestern in attendance included Northwestern University President Michael Schill, Dean Eric G. Neilson, MD, of Feinberg School of Medicine, and Dean Chris Schuh of the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Global Experiences for Medical Students
At the dinner, Dr. Havey shared that medical student global rotations have returned to their pre-COVID-19-pandemic levels, making Northwestern one of the top medical schools in the US for global health rotations. Rya Muller, a second-year MD/MPH student, shared her global health rotation experience with the group.
Ms. Muller spent time this summer in Lusaka, Zambia, researching strategies for improving the care of patients with spina bifida, a congenital condition of the spinal cord resulting in incomplete formation of the spine. There is a high prevalence of spina bifida in Zambia, yet there are only two hospitals in the country that offer neurosurgical treatment for it.
“Working with Zambian physicians, I understood what it truly means to be a physician,” she said in her remarks. “It’s not about fancy technology or flashy surgeries, but about doing everything in your power to ensure that your patients can achieve the best quality of life.”
Second-year medical students Jenny Zheng and Donnell Moss also addressed dinner attendees via pre-recorded videos.
Ms. Zheng spent the summer in the Philippines, where she split her time between hospitals and clinics in Manila and with a team of healthcare workers administering polio and other vaccines to indigenous children on the island of Tangoa.
The experience was deeply personal to Ms. Zheng, whose medical school trajectory, she said, was inspired by her mother’s journey with polio, which she contracted as a toddler toward the end of the epidemic in her hometown of Nanjing, China, due to vaccine refrigeration issues.
“When it came time to decide where to attend medical school, I knew I needed to be somewhere that valued global health as much as I did,” Ms. Zheng said. “Global health is deeply personal. It’s about helping families like mine, and like yours, no matter where they are born or how they grow up.”
Mr. Moss completed his rotation at Clinica de Familia La Romana in the Dominican Republic. He said he was moved by the dedication of the staff at the community clinic despite the constraints of historical and systemic challenges, including budget shortfalls and migration crises.
“The resources and funds you provide are making a tangible difference,” Mr. Moss said of the impact of philanthropy upon the institute. “Not only do you help these clinics offer the care everyone deserves, but you also give students like me the chance to experience the world beyond our familiar surroundings. Your support is truly changing the world.”
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For more information about supporting the Havey Institute for Global Health, please contact Jenn Burke at jennifer.burke@northwestern.edu or 312-503-4635.