Issues of education, income disparities and gender inequalities are all relevant in finding the answers to global health problems. That’s what Kavita N. Ramdas said in her opening address at the 9th Annual Western Regional International Health Conference Friday.
Ramdas is the executive director of the program on social entrepreneurship at Stanford University. Formerly, she was also the president and CEO of Global fund for Women. She was announced the keynote speaker of this year’s conference last September.
“I do believe education in the broader sense of … does actually offer the only real hope of meeting and overcoming global challenges,” Ramdas said, “but in order to do that, education, particularly in the area of global health … has to dare to be imaginative, inclusive, and fully cognizant of the deep inequalities this country is currently struggling with.”
She also pointed at the problems of income inequalities within the country saying, “The US looks more like a developing nation instead of a developed country in terms of income equality.”
After pointing to the major issues she thought were at the core of global health solutions, Ramdas explained that those issues will not be met unless there is mutual understanding and willingness to cooperate among people.
“I think it will be very difficult to expect those of whom are quite happily benefiting from the status quo to say, ‘oh, yes we’d actually like to make some… change,” she said.
The global health convention continues at the University of Washington until Sunday. More on the program can be found here.
By Azusa Uchikura / @auchikura
education of the heart is very important considering the cases of coronary heart disease continues to increase.
Heart health number one, that’s why it is very important to socialize and teach about heart health.