Why should we be working in global health from Australia?
The Nossal Institute for Global Health is clearly an idea whose time has come. From the dawn of the 21st century, the world has at last woken up to the fact that certain global inequities are intolerable. How can we live in a world where the number of deaths in children under 5 is 262 per thousand in Sierra Leone vs 3 per thousand in Sweden? Upgrading the health status in poor countries requires new partnerships between health workers in the developing countries and aid organisations in the industrialised countries. Australia already has a proud record in this area, and at the Nossal Institute a key function will be to train and motivate the leaders of improved health systems in the developing world. In fact, this advanced teaching will go hand in hand with interdisciplinary applied research and with delivery of sharply targeted, evidence-based aid programs. While the Institute is firmly embedded within the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences of The University of Melbourne, it also draws on the skills in other University Faculties, leading to a rounded, holistic approach to problem solving.
I cannot think of anything more exciting for Generation Y Australians than to participate in the adventure of global healing. The "greed is good" era is over; global social justice can now move to centre stage.