At the foundation are the global collaborative sites that provide opportunities for research, training and practice. At a different level, the partnership strategy also emphasizes engaging with multilateral partners (e.g. WHO and UN) and inter-institutional partnerships (e.g. FHI-360 RTI international, other universities) to provide global guidance and inform global policies.
International partnership sites
Our proposed partnership strategy is grounded in the six international partnerships sites within the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID) global partnership model. IGHID in partnership with Gillings has developed and grown five international sites including Malawi, Zambia, Vietnam, China, and Liberia. The research support at these sites have grown from $12million in 2007 to $70,000,000 in 2020 (exclusive of grants and contracts in other departments dependent on IGHID). These sites were created in response to specific health needs at the sites and to address critical questions that effect the species and have grown over the years to incorporate a focus on many other health topics.
These sites provide the backbone of our research partnership strategy at Gillings. The sites have strengths in public health and biomedical research that includes focus on HIV/AIDS, cancer, maternal and child health, mental health, substance use, tuberculosis, burns, trauma surgery, water and sanitation, nutrition and emerging infectious diseases and far more. Gillings faculty are heavily engaged with and lead research conducted at these sites and Gillings has had had many Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral students who have worked with faculty on projects at these sites.
Institutional partnerships
Gillings also has strong institutional partnerships with non-profits and other academic institutions to support our global health research and training. We have had a long-standing and robust partnership with FHI360 for over 18 years. FHI360 has invested more than $1million to support 2-3 graduate level trainees each year to work with their staff. Similarly, Gillings established a summer internship program with IntraHealth International over 10 years ago that supports 2-3 students every summer in a paid practicum working with their staff. These institutional partnerships are critical to our training programs.
- Advance Access & Delivery
- FHI 360
- Institute Pasteur
- IntraHealth International
- JSI
- Male Contraceptive Initiative
- RTI International
Multilateral partnerships
We also want to encourage and support our faculty and students who are working at a different level globally, with multilateral agencies focused more on policies, and guidelines than on specific projects in specific regions. It is critical that we continue to play key roles with multilateral agencies like WHO and UN Agencies. Our work with these multilateral agencies is an opportunity to translate our research into policies and guidelines that shape global health. We see this level of engagement as an umbrella over the research that occurs in specific sites and provides a platform for us to amplify our impact at the global level. Some of our faculty members work as technical consultations and on advisory committees, while others have involvement with these agencies because their work is focused on policies and guidelines.
Faculty-led partnerships
Many of our global faculty members have long-standing partnerships with collaborators around the globe in the areas of research, training, and service. These partnerships are crucial to the work we do and we will continue to highlight them. Faculty-led partnerships include (not an exhaustive list):
- Cuba
- Bangladesh
- Dominican Republic
- Ethiopia
- Guatemala
- Kenya
- Nigeria
- South Africa
- Thailand
- Tanzania
