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Mon, Jun 30
Policy and Ethics in Global Health Diplomacy and Emergency Response: A Duke JD/MA Student’s Immersive Week in Geneva
Lauren Beizer is a second year pursuing a joint JD/MA in Bioethics, Technology, & Science Policy. This spring, she was accepted into the Duke-Geneva Program on the Global Health Track through the Sanford School of Public Policy. Having wrapped up an incredible and productive week in Geneva, Switzerland, Beizer earned the distinction as a Global Health Fellow with Sanford.
Highlights included attending the UNAIDS 56th PCB opening plenary session and participating in a case competition on the Sudanese refugee crisis, where her cohort proposed expanding primary health care services for refugees in partnership with the Chadian Ministry of Health. Site visits also included the World Health Organization, World Food Programme, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Medair, South Centre, Geneva, International Committee of the Red Cross – ICRC, IOM – UN Migration, Médecins Sans Frontières (Switzerland), and The Global Fund.
“Visiting all these various organizations and hearing from professionals navigating this rather unpredictable space taught me more about how adaptability and knowledge function in times of uncertainty in global health,” says Beizer. “These site visits taking place in the heart of world affairs and the beautiful city of Geneva, Switzerland, made this intensive program a wonderful professional development opportunity.”
From discussing global health diplomacy and navigating geopolitical tensions to exploring supply chain management in emergency medical responses, this experience brought additional perspective on the shifting global health space. “This was truly an experience that I will never forget as I begin my career as a young legal professional.”
Access to the many multidisciplinary opportunities at Duke University is a core strength of our educational programs. The option for students in our Master of Arts in Applied Ethics and Policy program to take advantage of these opportunities contributes to the program’s reputation as one of the best bioethics, tech ethics, and policy graduate programs in the world.