Overview

GlobeMed at the University of Denver is partnered with BSDA-Buddhism for Social Development Action, based out of Kampong Cham, Cambodia. Vision: BSDA envisions a society where people are empowered to fully exercise their potential to live in dignity, peace and free of poverty. Mission: BSDA's mission is to work to empower and support women, children and marginalized people in social development processes especially health, education and livelihood promotion.

Background

In 2007, a group of Northwestern undergraduates were brought together by their common determination to answer one question: What is the best way for college students to improve the health of people living in poverty around the world? Frustrated by the short term options offered to them – donating money to humanitarian organizations, participating in medical mission trips, studying abroad – they set out to design a new solution. This model, they committed, would unlock the passion, resources, and creativity of their generation to help build a healthier world for all. These students knew that there were grassroots leaders on every continent who had already started initiatives to improve the health of their own communities. From Rwandan medical school students rebuilding clinics destroyed by the genocide to Nicaraguan community health workers bringing clean water to their rural villages, these leaders worked day in and day out on the frontlines of health and social justice. Born and raised in the communities they served, they had the knowledge, relationships, and vision needed to create lasting change. However, these leaders and initiatives often lacked crucial resources – funding, technology, research, global recognition – to realize their full potential for impact. It was clear that students and grassroots leaders each held a crucial piece of the puzzle. How could they join forces to tackle the complex challenges of global health? In the spring of 2007, the group at Northwestern brought 45 students from seven universities together to tackle this question at the first annual GlobeMed Global Health Summit. Crowded around a blackboard with minds collaborating and ideas flying, they forged the GlobeMed model.

Mission

GlobeMed aims to strengthen the movement for global health equity by empowering students and communities to work together to improve the health of people living in poverty around the world.

Vision

We envision a world in which health – the ability to not only survive but thrive – is possible for all people.