August 20, 2014 | Department News

Film Aims to Remove Mental Illness Stigma through Empathy

The key to removing the stigma surrounding mental illness can be summarized in one word — empathy.

“If I could inspire a little bit of empathy toward this issue, my work is complete,” said Delany Ruston, a physician and filmmaker from Seattle.

Ruston says that global mental illness is not very different from the mental illness that is around us in the US. The woman we avoid at the bus stop, the man muttering to himself on the sidewalk; these people are often hidden from view, not only because we choose not to see them but also because they are tucked away by society.

August 20, 2014 | Department News

Dr. Stella Nyanzi Kicks Off 11th Annual WRIHC with Powerful Keynote Address

"I want to tell a story of something that happened this week, Monday, in my country,” Dr. Stella Nyanzi told the crowd as she began her keynote speech to kick off the 11th Annual Western Regional International Health Conference.

“People marched through Kampala, carrying banners and posters with the most shocking messages for those of us who had been working with the LGBTIQ community in Uganda, messages that said things like, ‘Uganda belongs to God,’ or, ‘Musevini, we the children thank you for saving our future.’”

August 20, 2014 | Department News

Social Justice Plenary Wraps up Weekend Conference in the Spirit of Activism

“Global health and social movements must be anchored at the local grassroots level,” said Walter G. Flores, the first panelist to speak this Sunday at the WRIHC’s final plenary session.

Flores, who works for the Center for the Study of Equity and Governance in Healthcare Systems, was one of four distinguished keynote speakers who wrapped up this weekend’s global health conference in the spirit of social justice and activism.

August 20, 2014 | Department News

‘Taboo Topics in Film’ Panel Addresses Financial Barriers Faced by Trans People, and the Mystery of Female Condoms

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with a panel title, “Taboo Topics in Film: Social Justice in Gender Identity and Sexual Health.” Even the word taboo made me think of fishnet stockings.  Instead, this engaging panel addressed two very distinct and important issues: female condoms as a preventative tool for women, and the financial barriers to medical procedures faced by transgender people.</body

August 20, 2014 | Department News

Photos from Uganda Win $250 Poster Prize at WRIHC

Sean Bernfeld, a first-year medical student on the Global Health Immersion Program (GHIP), went to Uganda to work with Hospice Africa Uganda, which provides support for patients with HIV/AIDS and cancer.  Bernfeld said he wasn’t sure what he was going to do while he was there, but he had brought his camera, and a photo project was born. 

August 15, 2014 | Department News

I-TECH and DGH Leadership Visit I-TECH Ethiopia, Speak at Outpatient Clinic Launch

Last month, a distinguished group from the University of Washington’s International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) and Department of Global Health (DGH) visited Addis Ababa and Gondar, Ethiopia, for several days of discussion, workshops, events, and celebration — including the University of Gondar’s 60th anniversary Diamond Jubilee and the inauguration of the University of Gondar Comprehensive Outpatient Center.

July 29, 2014 | Department News

Global Health Minor Lands Job at Seattle BioMed

Nadia Arang (BS, Microbiology, Minor, Global Health 2014) began full-time work at Seattle BioMed just a week after graduating from the UW. She researches how malaria parasites get inside the human liver, where they grow and multiply. "The research has a very clear and direct impact on human life," Arang says. "It's very easy to stay engaged."

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