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Harvard launches new global health centre in Dubai
World Report
Harvard launches new global health centre in Dubai
Janssen
A new initiative by Harvard Medical School and collaborators aims to bolster the delivery of global health interventions to populations in the Middle East and beyond. Talha Burki reports.
HMS-Dubai is based at the Mohammed bin Rashid Academic Medical Center Published Online October 26, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S0140-6736(15)00609-1 For more on HMS—Dubai see http://ghsm.hms.harvard.edu/ ghd-dubai/hms-center-forglobal-health-delivery-dubai
1722
The Harvard Medical School Center for Global Health Delivery—Dubai (HMS—Dubai), United Arab Emirates, certainly does not lack ambition. The stated aim is to “promote research and education focused on the delivery of high-quality health care to all populations, particularly those facing high burdens of non-communicable and infectious diseases in Dubai and the region”. The region in question is huge: 46 countries, stretching far beyond the Arabian Gulf to encompass the nations of north Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and central and south Asia (although in practice, each set of collaborating institutions will hail from a handful of countries). “By coupling the research and teaching mission of the centre to the activities of local collaborating institutions...it is anticipated that this innovative and translational research will ultimately result in implementation of best practices in global health delivery in Dubai, the region, and globally”, affirms the centre’s official synopsis. Harvard University, MA, USA, has a long-running relationship with Dubai. But it has traditionally been reluctant to lay down roots outside the USA. Whereas several American universities have established centres abroad, and Duke University, NC, USA, has even built a sister institution in China, Harvard’s international involvement has been largely restricted to research collaborations, and the occasional office. “Generally for Harvard, the policy has been ‘small international footprint, big international impact’”, explains Arthur Kleinman, professor of medical anthropology at the university. “I see the Dubai centre as a trial step to see what happens when we put down something more substantial, with more faculty and student involvement.”
The genesis of the project can be found in the Partners in Health initiative, which was launched in 1987 to deliver health care to a remote region of Haiti (Harvard Medical School linked to the project in the early 1990s). Co-founder, Jim Kim, now president of the World Bank, came to the realisation that while innovations in health care move relatively seamlessly from bench to hospital bedside, the move to where patients are actually found is far more problematic. “Most people have diseases that are better dealt with before they need a hospital”, explained Salmaan Keshavjee, director of HMS— Dubai. “Jim Kim really started focusing on the idea that health systems do not do delivery well—most often, the issue is not that you are lacking a certain technology, it is that you cannot deliver it.” Addressing this delivery gap underpins the ethos of HMS—Dubai.
“‘...it is a real effort to do something serious and important that can contribute to equity in a region that could use some good models.’” Along with hepatitis C, tuberculosis is one of the centre’s major areas of focus (the others include diabetes and obesity, mental health, and surgical care). “In many countries, particularly outside the western world, people have not used comprehensive control strategies for tuberculosis, so the disease has come to be viewed as insurmountable—we are trying to push comprehensive strategies that we know work”, Keshavjee told The Lancet. Poorer countries can access effective drugs at a fraction of their cost. “So the question becomes one of delivery—you have to find the people who need treatment, and ensure the proper care is delivered for the duration of the treatment”, said Keshavjee.
HMS—Dubai, based at the Mohammed bin Rashid Academic Medical Center in Dubai Healthcare City, started operating in September, 2014, and its inaugural symposium was on Oct 25, 2015. It offers grants to local and regional researchers, as part of a drive to build capacity. “We saw that there was room to build a culture of delivery research”, explained Keshavjee. “So we created a mechanism where we could use Harvard’s skills in research, teaching, and training to augment the efforts of local clinicians and policy makers.” It is a highly collaborative process: the centre works with local investigators on planning and executing research studies, and analysing data. Scholarships take researchers to Harvard’s US campus, and the Dubai centre hosts workshops and training seminars. “The idea is to bring global science into a sophisticated engagement with local knowledge and practices”, said Kleinman. “The educational interventions will emphasise rigorous understanding of doing things locally, and there is a deep commitment to addressing health and social disparities.” Keshavjee’s close familiarity with the Middle East should mean that the political, religious, and social structures of the region help inform HMS—Dubai’s work. Nonetheless, success is not guaranteed. The centre’s remit and reach are very broad, and it is situated in a part of the world where several countries have ongoing conflicts. “It is not a safe bet”, conceded Kleinman. “But it is a real effort to do something serious and important that can contribute to equity in a region that could use some good models.”
Talha Burki www.thelancet.com Vol 386 October 31, 2015
Harvard launches new global health centre in Dubai
Janssen
A new initiative by Harvard Medical School and collaborators aims to bolster the delivery of global health interventions to populations in the Middle East and beyond. Talha Burki reports.
HMS-Dubai is based at the Mohammed bin Rashid Academic Medical Center Published Online October 26, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S0140-6736(15)00609-1 For more on HMS—Dubai see http://ghsm.hms.harvard.edu/ ghd-dubai/hms-center-forglobal-health-delivery-dubai
1722
The Harvard Medical School Center for Global Health Delivery—Dubai (HMS—Dubai), United Arab Emirates, certainly does not lack ambition. The stated aim is to “promote research and education focused on the delivery of high-quality health care to all populations, particularly those facing high burdens of non-communicable and infectious diseases in Dubai and the region”. The region in question is huge: 46 countries, stretching far beyond the Arabian Gulf to encompass the nations of north Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and central and south Asia (although in practice, each set of collaborating institutions will hail from a handful of countries). “By coupling the research and teaching mission of the centre to the activities of local collaborating institutions...it is anticipated that this innovative and translational research will ultimately result in implementation of best practices in global health delivery in Dubai, the region, and globally”, affirms the centre’s official synopsis. Harvard University, MA, USA, has a long-running relationship with Dubai. But it has traditionally been reluctant to lay down roots outside the USA. Whereas several American universities have established centres abroad, and Duke University, NC, USA, has even built a sister institution in China, Harvard’s international involvement has been largely restricted to research collaborations, and the occasional office. “Generally for Harvard, the policy has been ‘small international footprint, big international impact’”, explains Arthur Kleinman, professor of medical anthropology at the university. “I see the Dubai centre as a trial step to see what happens when we put down something more substantial, with more faculty and student involvement.”
The genesis of the project can be found in the Partners in Health initiative, which was launched in 1987 to deliver health care to a remote region of Haiti (Harvard Medical School linked to the project in the early 1990s). Co-founder, Jim Kim, now president of the World Bank, came to the realisation that while innovations in health care move relatively seamlessly from bench to hospital bedside, the move to where patients are actually found is far more problematic. “Most people have diseases that are better dealt with before they need a hospital”, explained Salmaan Keshavjee, director of HMS— Dubai. “Jim Kim really started focusing on the idea that health systems do not do delivery well—most often, the issue is not that you are lacking a certain technology, it is that you cannot deliver it.” Addressing this delivery gap underpins the ethos of HMS—Dubai.
“‘...it is a real effort to do something serious and important that can contribute to equity in a region that could use some good models.’” Along with hepatitis C, tuberculosis is one of the centre’s major areas of focus (the others include diabetes and obesity, mental health, and surgical care). “In many countries, particularly outside the western world, people have not used comprehensive control strategies for tuberculosis, so the disease has come to be viewed as insurmountable—we are trying to push comprehensive strategies that we know work”, Keshavjee told The Lancet. Poorer countries can access effective drugs at a fraction of their cost. “So the question becomes one of delivery—you have to find the people who need treatment, and ensure the proper care is delivered for the duration of the treatment”, said Keshavjee.
HMS—Dubai, based at the Mohammed bin Rashid Academic Medical Center in Dubai Healthcare City, started operating in September, 2014, and its inaugural symposium was on Oct 25, 2015. It offers grants to local and regional researchers, as part of a drive to build capacity. “We saw that there was room to build a culture of delivery research”, explained Keshavjee. “So we created a mechanism where we could use Harvard’s skills in research, teaching, and training to augment the efforts of local clinicians and policy makers.” It is a highly collaborative process: the centre works with local investigators on planning and executing research studies, and analysing data. Scholarships take researchers to Harvard’s US campus, and the Dubai centre hosts workshops and training seminars. “The idea is to bring global science into a sophisticated engagement with local knowledge and practices”, said Kleinman. “The educational interventions will emphasise rigorous understanding of doing things locally, and there is a deep commitment to addressing health and social disparities.” Keshavjee’s close familiarity with the Middle East should mean that the political, religious, and social structures of the region help inform HMS—Dubai’s work. Nonetheless, success is not guaranteed. The centre’s remit and reach are very broad, and it is situated in a part of the world where several countries have ongoing conflicts. “It is not a safe bet”, conceded Kleinman. “But it is a real effort to do something serious and important that can contribute to equity in a region that could use some good models.”
Talha Burki www.thelancet.com Vol 386 October 31, 2015