Community and Global Health
Our aim is to bring together aspects of clinical, public health and social science research to address the broad issues of health and health care: 1) to investigate how to change the status quo by improving health status of the most vulnerable; 2) to undertake research on the influences of 'globalization' on health and social development; 3) to investigate the mechanisms to reduce inequalities between and within nations on health and development; and 4) to develop the mechanisms to link the above 4 goals with the individual research ativities described below.
Major projects
- Infectious disease control: tuberculosis, leprosy and HIV/AIDS
- Health and human rights
- Primary health care
- Health promotion
- School health in developing countries
- Zoonoses in developing countries
- Participatory infectious disease control
- Injury prevention and control
History
The department of international community health has been headed by four professors since 1993; Professor,Gen Ohi(1993-1996),
Som-Arch Wongkhomthong(1996-1999),
Susumu Wakai (1999-2005),
Masamine Jimba (2006-present).
Introduction and Organization
The mission of the department is to seek equity and social justice in health within and
across nations. By bringing together clinical, public health, and social science research
streams, we aim to:
1. Investigate how to improve the health status of the most vulnerable people, especially
in developing countries;
2. Conduct research on the influence of globalization on health and social development;
and
3. Investigate mechanisms to reduce inequalities between and within nations in terms
of health and development.
In April 2009, the department’s name was changed from the Department of International
Community Health to the Department of Community and Global Health.
Accordingly, our research will place more emphasis on how to initiate communitybased
activities and how a bottom-up approach can inf luence national and global
policy. The department currently consists of the Department Chair and Professor,
three Assistant Professors, eight Visiting Lecturers, 18 Ph.D. students, 24 Master’s
students, five research students, and 17 visiting researchers.
Our department has conducted a variety of cooperative international activities. For
example, we worked on the Toyako G8 Summit as part of the Takemi Working Group
from the end of 2007 to 2008 and in follow-up activities since 2008. Our efforts have
focused particularly on global health and strengthening human security and the global
health workforce. In addition, department members have acted as advisors to the
WHO South-East Asia Regional Office and Western Pacific Regional Office. We also
provide technical support for projects run by the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) and for nongovernmental organizations in Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia,
and Vietnam, among other countries.
Activities
Education Activities
The objectives of our education activities are to learn from each other in an environment
of peers who are willing to:
1. Practice in the field of global health;
2. Carry out research in global health both in research institutions and in the field; and
3. Strengthen their capacity to make global health policy rooted in community-based,
bottom-up activities.
The department curriculum covers global health, primary health care, health promotion,
community-based interventions, community-based disability, social capital,
health and human rights, medical anthropology, reproductive health, and the control of
infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical
diseases (NTDs).
Our department has accepted students in various disciplines, including medical
doctors, nurses, co-medical workers, social scientists, and others. The academic year
for the Master’s Course (M.A., 2 years) and Doctoral Course (Ph.D., 3 years) starts in
April each year. All of the lectures and seminars are conducted in English.
Research activities
We conduct research by working with different international organizations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and universities in developing countries. The department’ s major focuses are primary health care, health promotion, school health, health and human rights (including migrants’ health), conf l ict and health, violence, non-communicable disease control, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and leprosy in South and South East Asia. We also conduct research in Africa.
Department Website : Community and Global Health
