This blog post was written by Emily Kiser, Program Manager, Triangle Global Health Consortium. The Triangle Global Health Consortium is a non-profit member organization representing institutions and individuals from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, the international health development NGO community, the faith community, and academia. The Consortium’s mission is to establish North Carolina as an international center for research, training, education, advocacy and business dedicated to improving the health of the world’s communities. They are a 2018 Global Health Council member.
Image courtesy: Triangle Global Health Consortium
On September 27, more than 300 global health professionals and students gathered in Raleigh, North Carolina to explore innovation for global health impact at the 2018 Triangle Global Health Annual Conference, hosted by the Triangle Global Health Consortium (TGHC). Each year, the Triangle Global Health Annual Conference highlights the incredible global health work taking place in North Carolina and its far-reaching impacts.
The day featured dynamic keynote addresses from Dr. Timothy Mastro, Chief Science Officer at FHI 360, and Dr. Ticora V. Jones, Director for the Center for Development Research and Division Chief for the Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN) within the US Global Development Lab at USAID.
Plenary panel discussions delved into embedding social innovation to drive gender equality and accelerating and scaling global health innovation. As TGHC’s Executive Director, Jacob Traverse, noted, “When you’re dealing with global health issues, particularly in developing regions, often the challenge isn’t so much [medical technology], but it’s how you integrate these layers of the community and deal with cultural dynamics that may go back generations. There’s always inspiration in these discussions.”
Additional panel and workshop sessions throughout the day spanned a wide range of innovation topics including digital health, medical transport via drones, innovations in M&E, innovative funding models, and more. Participants had the opportunity to address hypothetical outbreak scenarios, explore and create new cervical screening methods, engage in ideation, and – most importantly – collaborate and connect with other participants across organizations and sectors.
As one 2018 conference participant shared, “[TGHC] brings together so many of the great organizations, people and knowledge that exist here in the Triangle, and taps into regional resources that extend beyond our immediate network. It is a gem in our global health community here and really brings to life a thriving, vibrant industry in North Carolina.”
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