Exploring and evaluating new partner alliances for creating unique solutions to address unmet global health needs: The consortium/collaborative model

Complex, vexing issues of human health cannot be solved by any one set of stakeholders alone. These issues call for new leadership thinking, holistic, integrated solutions, and new alliances. Global health leaders have begun to see that infectious diseases as well as many other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and mental illness, are inextricably linked to factors such as water, environment, nutrition, poverty, education, governance, and finance. There is a need, and possibility, to bring about the convergence of the many stovepiped stakeholders and resources to address the increasingly interconnected diseases, populations, geographies, and societies worldwide. The convergence of local researchers and implementers creates new combinations of stakeholders that conjoin to underwrite and address unmet global need. This convergence is beginning to take shape with new, sometimes nonconventional partnerships in various initiatives and pilot projects worldwide. The Triangle Global Health Consortium and the Houston Global Health Collaborative represent more than traditional actors in health development – in addition to NGOs and academic institutions, these two organizations bring together the biopharmaceutical sector, medical center institutions and consulting firms to address local and global issues. This presentation session will explore ways to better leverage this convergence of stakeholders, including outlining pilot projects and taking a realistic assessment of successes, failures, and lessons learned.