Evolution of global health educational priorities: The GHEC/CUGH experience

The International Health Medical Education Consortium (IHMEC) was founded in 1991 to promote and facilitate global health education in North American medical schools. Few global health programs then existed, institutional support was negligible, faculty felt isolated, and educational products were limited. Over the years the nature and variety of educational programs expanded, membership increased, and the annual conferences became major events for sharing of information and program experiences.

In 2005 IHMEC became the Global Health Education Consortium, membership was extended to other health professions besides medicine, and student involvement in GHEC matters was strengthened. Starting in 2005 discussions among a number of universities began to explore the possibility of a university alliance with a broader mandate and more resources than were then available to GHEC.

In 2008 the Consortium of Universities for Global Health was incorporated and in 2010 GHEC and CUGH initiated discussions that led to their administrative merger in 2012. This presentation will trace the evolution of educational priorities, programs and products during the GHEC years and give special attention to how CUGH proposes to focus its efforts during the early years of its merged existence.