Global Health Systems Empowerment Network (GHSEN)
GHSEN is a student-driven research network whose work focuses on health systems strengthening across the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. Our research initiatives aim to promote awareness of pressing global health challenges and disseminate evidence-based recommendations to policymakers on bolstering global health systems, expanding healthcare access, and tackling health inequities. Over the past several years, we have built an international network of research trainees and public health leaders from countries such as the United States, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, The Gambia, and Congo. In addition, our team has published 25+ articles in medical journals such as BMJ, Nature Medicine, Annals of Global Health, and AIDS.
Our Work
Featured Projects
Post-Election Responsibilities for Public Health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Nature Medicine 2024)
In collaboration with academic researchers and public health experts across Duke Global Health Institute (US), the University of Kisangani (DRC), and the Kinshasa School of Public Health (DRC), our team published on evidence-based strategies to safeguard healthcare amidst the humanitarian crisis in Congo.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: a strengthened response to mpox could help revitalise the country's healthcare system (BMJ 2024)
In collaboration with the Vice Minister of Health at the Ministry of Health of Congo, our team argues that DRC’s mpox outbreak is a public health emergency fueled by decades of conflict and healthcare underdevelopment, but it also provides DRC a vital blueprint to rejuvenate its healthcare system, better prepare itself to combat epidemics, and provide humanitarian relief for its citizens.
Challenges and Ongoing Actions to Address the Mpox Emergency in Africa (Annals of Global Health 2024)
In this article, the GHSEN team collaborated with researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Director General of the Africa CDC to disseminate updates, challenges, and ongoing responses to mpox in Central Africa following the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of Continental Concern in August 2024
Culturally Tailored Strategies to Enhance Type 2 Diabetes Care for South Asians in the United States (Journal of General Internal Medicine 2024)
In collaboration with researchers and healthcare leaders across Stanford University, Duke University, and Rebel Health Alliance, our team sheds light on factors driving the increased risk of South Asian populations to Type 2 Diabetes. We also disseminate evidence-based recommendations to bolster culturally tailored diabetes care for South Asians groups such as Indian Americans, Pakistani Americans, Bangladeshi Americans, and others.
A holistic framework to integrate HIV and cardiovascular disease care in sub-Saharan Africa (AIDS 2023)
Collaborating with experts across Duke Global Health Institute (USA), Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (Tanzania), and the Tanzanian Ministry of Health (Tanzania), the GHSEN team presents strategies to integrate HIV and cardiovascular disease care in light of the the double burden of these diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
Our Vision
The GHSEN team believes that sustained collaborations are vital in modern global health practice. These partnerships provide trainees and policymakers with a deeper understanding of the cultural and healthcare contexts in the countries where they work. To this end, GHSEN assigns trainees to long-term research initiatives in specific regions, enabling them to engage in longitudinal global health efforts. Additionally, GHSEN actively includes research fellows from African countries, focusing on empowering their careers as researchers and public health professionals. For example, our collaboration in Tanzania includes U.S. research fellows dedicated to longitudinal practice in the region in addition to research professionals across the Ministry of Health, Benjamin Mkapa Foundation, and the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre. Our ultimate vision is to cultivate a new generation of global health leaders who are committed to transforming healthcare delivery and advancing U.S.-Africa collaborations on strengthening health systems throughout the region.