News

January 15, 2021

A Virtual Exchange - Welcoming Maastricht University Students

The Global Health program’s exchange opportunities with partner universities, which are currently being offered virtually, will continue to enable students to broaden their perspectives and benefit from rich intercultural learning. This week, the Global Health office hosted an orientation event to welcome 25 students from Maastricht University, who are spending the winter term on a virtual exchange at McMaster University as part of the Master of Science in Global Health program. The welcome orientation provided time for students to introduce themselves, discuss course selections for the w

December 9, 2020

Global Health student leads new website on COVID-19 and childhood diabetes

Research shows that COVID-19 infections are generally less severe in children than adults. But for children with diabetes, an infection can make blood glucose difficult to manage. More importantly, access to care may be delayed due to the disruption of health care systems.

November 16, 2020

Global health grad aims to make health care equitable for all bodies with conference on eating disorders

Early on in her life as a competitive ballroom dancer, Noa Lashevsky cultivated an artistic outlet for self-expression and communication. She also saw firsthand the negative impacts of body-shaming, disordered eating and the stigma around eating disorders. Today, the Global Health program graduate says she’s drawing on this personal experience, combined with the knowledge and skills gained in global health, "to revolutionize eating disorder recovery and make healthcare equitable and accessible for all bodies.”

October 29, 2020

Student conference focuses on working locally while thinking globally

The student-led McMaster Global Health Conference 2020 was originally scheduled for March, but, like most events, it was postponed due to COVID. Now, it’s back – scheduled for November 7 & 8 – and its theme is perhaps more relevant than ever.

$The United Nations\' 17 Sustainable Development Goals$

October 28, 2020

McMaster Global 2020 explores how higher education can address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

What role can universities play in advancing the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? That’s the question that McMaster Global 2020, which takes place from November 2 to 13, seeks to answer in its annual showcase, which highlights the university’s commitment to global engagement.

October 22, 2020

National competition recognizes Global Health student’s work on Indigenous food insecurity

The rate of food insecurity – defined by a lack of access to adequate food due to limited money or other resources – is three times greater in Canada’s Northern Indigenous communities than the average Canadian household. It’s an issue that Ankita Datar has been investigating.

October 9, 2020

A changemaker in a changing world

Global Health student Habon Ali recently participated in the WHO virtual side event at the 75th United Nations General Assembly. The session – Youth and Health: Changemakers in the Changing World – focused on young people’s role in health in a world that’s changed drastically by the COVID pandemic.

September 25, 2020

It's up to you(th) to make the Sustainable Development Goals a reality

When it comes to tackling the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals, Global Health student Shania Bhopa says we need youth voices. So she’s using hers. Bhopa presented earlier this week at the Youth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Summit 2020, hosted by UNITE 2030, and will be delivering a talk this weekend at the Wemakechange Assembly.

Global Health program graduate Saarah Haque

September 21, 2020

Culture’s impact on postpartum depression explored in new study

Refugee women are at high risk of postpartum depression (PPD). How it affects them depends on a number of factors, including culture – their own, as well as their new country’s cultural environment. A recent publication by Global Health program graduate Saarah Haque seeks to explore the ways in which culture impacts how refugee women resettled in high-income countries experience and understand PPD.

September 14, 2020

Global Health student to share strategies on securing graduate funding in new webinar

Since COVID-19 hit, Global Health student Shania Bhopa has been busy. She's started her own non-profit organization, The Canadian Courage Project, which has helped homeless youth in the GTA. She's also started writing a wellness book – a collaboration with her mother and sister – and has launched a social media presence to support it.

September 7, 2020

McMaster Global to highlight commitment to global citizenship and sustainable development

The third annual McMaster Global event series will run this year from November 2 – 13, 2020. The series, which will be held virtually this year, is an annual showcase of the University’s collective commitment to global engagement.

$A visual of students\' answers from Mentimeter, asking: When you hear \'global health\' what words come to mind?$

September 4, 2020

A different kind of orientation week

Orientation kicked off this week – on Zoom – with Global Health program students joining the welcome meetings from Toronto, Halifax, Aruba, Cape Cod, Texas, the UK, and other locations near and far. “In this COVID world, we’re experiencing a different reality,” said Andrea Baumann, associate vice-president, Global Health, who delivered the official welcome address on Wednesday morning.

September 2, 2020

McMaster ranked among the top 70 universities worldwide

McMaster has been named one of the top 70 universities in the world, according to an internationally influential ranking encompassing more than 1,500 institutions worldwide. The university is ranked 69 in the 2021 Times Higher Education rankings released today, one of only four Canadian universities in the world’s top 70.

July 27, 2020

Annual student-run journal highlights global issues and research inspired by UN goals

The fifth issue of the student-led, open access journal Global Health: Annual Review (GHAR) is now online. From water and sanitation in Ghana to Canada’s COVID-19 response in marginalized communities, the articles demonstrate the diversity of global health research and explore the interplay between the biological, social, and physical factors that influence health and disease globally.

July 22, 2020

Graduate Plenary Awards recognize global health students' outstanding achievements

The Health Sciences Graduate Studies office is pleased to announce the award recipients from this year's Faculty of Health Sciences Graduate Plenary: A Celebration of Research and Professional Excellence. This year's awards recognized Global Health graduate students Leshawn Benedict, Bismah Jameel, Jeffrey Mclean, Purva Mehta, and Dayton Shaw for outstanding achievements. Watch the ceremony.

June 23, 2020

Work-integrated learning goes virtual for global health students

Work-integrated learning is a core component of McMaster’s graduate global health program, which requires students to complete a ten-week practicum to gain hands-on experience in the global health field. Students work with organizations that put into practice the theory, concepts, and methods taught in the program, with activities targeted to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

Laptop with person writing on pad of paper

June 22, 2020

5 tips for running a virtual symposium that works

The capstone experience of the graduate global health program is an intense two-week international symposium in India, which brings together 300+ students and faculty from McMaster and partner universities in the Netherlands, India and Thailand. This year, the evolving situation with COVID-19 meant the symposium had to move to a completely online format.

June 3, 2020

Global Health alumnus calls for compassionate response as COVID-19 outbreak worsens among migrant farm workers

A recent article in The Hamilton Spectator featured Eustace Orleans-Lindsay, an advocate for migrant workers in Norfolk County in Simcoe, where he works as a pharmacist. The MSc Global Health program graduate is asking residents not to stigmatize offshore workers in light of a COVID-19 outbreak on a local farm.

June 3, 2020

A message from the Dean & VP regarding racism

The Faculty of Health Sciences is a community of faculty, staff, and learners. Like many we are shocked, saddened and gravely concerned about the anti-Black racism and violence at the hands of police, and the ensuing tragic events, occurring in the United States. We recognize these deaths and events as a part of systemic injustices and inequities that are made more evident with the current pandemic, are also present within Canada and within many institutions, including our own.

$A slide from Om Kurmi\'s presentation on COVID-19, a country-specific comparison$

June 1, 2020

Flattening the curve on COVID-19: A country-specific comparison

Every day we get new numbers and predictions on the state of COVID-19 in our home community, our country, and around the world. How do these reports compare and contrast with one another when you put all the countries side by side? What can we learn from our current progress, our metrics for tracking, and the efficacy of “flattening the curve”?

Global Health Office