Division of Global Health Equity

BWHer Honored for Work in Liberia

Posted on September 4, 2013June 27, 2019 by Amanda

Rajesh Panjabi, MD, an associate physician in BWH's Department of Medicine, was recently recognized by Good Magazine, the Segal Family Foundation, and the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation for his commitment to saving the lives of women and children in the remote villages of Liberia.

Panjabi was nominated by Good Magazine to the GOOD100, a list that includes ideas and projects that are “pushing the world forward”. Panjabi was nominated for Last Mile Health, an organization he co-founded that trains former patients and other non-medical community members called Frontline Health Workers (FHWs) to become health advocates. By recruiting, hiring, equipping, and integrating these FHWs into the existing public health system, Last Mile Health is pioneering a system to bring health care directly into hard-to-reach, last mile villages.

Panjabi also accepted the Segal Family Foundation's Rising Star Award for his continued work in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Segal Family Foundation supports grassroots organizations directly, and through connecting them with innovative ideas, technical expertise, and capacity-building opportunities.

Finally, Panjabi's organization, Last Mile Health, won a prestigious three-year grant from the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation (DRKF), and Panjabi was added to the DRKF portfolio of social entrepreneurs. The Draper Richard Kaplan Foundation is a venture philanthropy fund that supports early-stage nonprofits that have the potential to change the world.

To learn more about the work Last Mile Health does in Liberia, please visit www.lastmilehealth.org.

The Equity Imperative

Posted on July 24, 2013June 27, 2019 by Amanda

“There is no correlation between money and what you can offer your people,” said Rwandan Minister of Health Agnes Binagwaho. “Money is not the obstacle; your vision is the obstacle.”

Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, Chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at BWH, introduced Binagwaho to the audience gathered on July 23 at Harvard School of Public Health. Binagwaho was a guest speaker at Harvard’s Global Health Effectiveness Program, which is co-directed by Joseph Rhatigan, MD and Rebecca Weintraub, MD, both Associate Physicians in BWH’s Division of Global Health Equity.

Over the next two hours, Binagwaho shared how reforms in Rwanda’s health care sector had produced stunning results: Despite a GDP of less than $1000 per capita, life expectancy in Rwanda has doubled since 2004. Continue reading “The Equity Imperative” →

Virtual Communities Link Health Care Professionals

Posted on July 2, 2013June 27, 2019 by Amanda

Thousands of health care professionals across the country have a new opportunity to share resources, ideas and information thanks to an innovative concept in medicine – the virtual community. The first virtual community that is part of a federal grant awarded to Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Global Health Delivery Project (GHD) went public in June.

“The US Communities Initiative will enrich GHD’s online platform through a continued exchange of ideas between new and seasoned professionals across geographies,” said Rebecca Weintraub, MD, an associate physician in the Division of Global Health Equity and faculty director of the GHD. “The virtual communities will facilitate an important cross-pollination of ideas, as well as the dissemination of new, translatable knowledge, for health care professionals working in the United States and around the world.”

The grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will enable GHD to host six professional virtual communities and 36 virtual expert panels on www.GHDonline.org over the next three years. Topics will range from the Affordable Care Act to mental health integration with a goal of sharing innovative ways to deliver evidence-based health care to underserved communities in the United States. Interested health care professionals are invited to join GHDonline and shape the US Communities Initiative by suggesting future discussions.