There’s one thing almost all global health professionals share in common: the desire to positively impact the quality of life of individuals and communities around the world. The path to achieving this goal, however, can vary widely.

At the beginning of every academic year, the University of Washington Department of Global Health selects a Common Book to bring together students, staff, and faculty to learn about a topic of shared importance. This year, the department selected “Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World” by award-winning author Dr. Anu Taranath.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, travel was a large part of most individuals’ lives – whether it was for work, leisure, or to visit family. Pre-departure and post-arrival testing and quarantining have become major public health surveillance components of traveling in the last year.

When Dr. Caroline Ryan became the CDC Country Director for Eswatini in 2015, the small kingdom in Southern Africa (then known as Swaziland) had the highest rate of HIV in the world – 27% of the adult population. But there was reason to be optimistic.

The following year, a study showed that the number of new infections in the country had been nearly halved and the number of people who were on antiretrovirals that were virally suppressed had doubled.