The University of Virginia is part of a small group of institutions that write a new global health case for student competition. This learning experience, modelled on Emory University’s, brings interdisciplinary teams from across Grounds to participate in a challenge where global partners advise and edit an original case each year, researched and written by the CGHE Student Advisory Board.

This year, CGHE collaborated with the Family Health University (FHU) in Accra, Ghana. The problem for this year's competition was titled “Health Impact of Water Pollution in Ghana”.

Caroline Rich, chair of the GHCC committee said that “We wanted to select an issue that is experienced around the world. Water pollution is not an isolated issue in Ghana and it was important to highlight the influence of other countries on the issue. I am incredibly grateful that the Case Competition committee had an opportunity to collaborate with students from Family Health University, and I believe this was the first time there was student collaboration between institutions in the case writing process. Their insight and contributions were invaluable in writing such an in-depth case study.”

Medical students and faculty from FHU worked alongside student leaders on the CGHE Student Advisory Board and faculty at the University of Virginia to develop the case.

“We have had a fantastic time being judges at this competition. I have enjoyed listening to complicated issues and we appreciate the thoughtfulness of the solutions that students presented,” said Selim Kwawukume, a respiratory fellow, as well as a lecturer and examiner, at the Family Health University and University of Ghana Medical School. “I felt that everyone put in a lot of effort and were consummate professionals at this event.”

“We came here because our students are taking part in writing the case for this year’s competition. We have been very impressed with the high quality of the presentation and answering of the questions,” said Sylvester Oppong, the dean of the Family Health University Medical School. “We were impressed with the level of confidence, presentation, and the research that UVA students did about Ghana. They have given us ideas that we hope can be implemented to improve the quality of water and health outcomes in Ghana.”

For the winner, the judges considered how well the teams understood the problem, how practical and acceptable their recommended interventions were, how well they delivered their presentation, and how effectively they answered questions during the Q&A session.

One of the judges, Rajesh Balkrishnan, Professor of Public Health Sciences, shared that he is ecstatic about the opportunity this presents to students from all disciplines at the University. “This is a great opportunity for students from across UVA to come together to collaborate, discuss their ideas, and have a nice discussion around issues that are more pertinent to low-to-middle income countries.” As a social epidemiologist and expert in health disparities, Balkrishnan took a leading role in asking students questions regarding implementation science and feasibility.

Thirty-two teams registered to compete in GHCC. This year’s winning team included Jadesola Akinbi, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, majoring in biomedical engineering, Foladayo Akinbi, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, majoring in electrical engineering, Naomi Tekola, McIntire School of Commerce, majoring in history and commerce, and Bethany Amanuel, School of Engineering and Applied Science, majoring in biomedical engineering.

“I felt that today was a wonderful opportunity for me to be able to work in policy. As an engineer, my goal is to identify a problem and find a solution,” said Foladayo Akinbi. “I was grateful to the judges for providing a substantive write-up of the cases that allowed our group to develop an innovative solution.”

Scott Heysell, director of CGHE, is excited about the opportunity the Case Competition presents to bring global partners to Grounds to collaborate with UVA faculty and students. “UVA’s global health case competition is an inspiring example of the role university scholars can play in bettering our interconnected world. So feasible were the solutions created, such as a land use trust model to limit harmful mining activities, that our Ghanaian colleagues are now taking the next steps to convene stakeholders meetings to test the potential for implementation.”