GLOBAL HEALTH MESSAGE
A Note About COVID-19
Colleagues and Friends,
Now more than ever the importance of global health efforts are showcased across the world’s stage. The World Health Organization has declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak as a pandemic with over 118,000 cases reported in 114 countries as of March 11, 2020.
Leadership and staff at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility have closely monitored the COVID-19 situation over these past few months. In regards to our programs, the Center follows the University of Minnesota’s policies in this type of situation. Many of our programs will be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The safety of our partners was at the forefront of our minds as we decided to postpone our main Spring event, Global Health Day 2020. We hope to host the event this Fall pending the progress of the COVID-19 situation. Thank you for your understanding and I hope to see you this Fall at one of our many events celebrating the Center’s 10 years of impactful global health work.
As this situation is ongoing, we will continue to assess what this means for our programs.
As of right now, we will continue to accept submissions for our Global Health Seed Grants, Faculty Travel Awards, and Faculty Mentor Awards. While travel for these awards is dependent upon the University’s travel policies, we are flexible with start and end dates and we can work with you to ensure a safe global health collaboration. Please feel free to email us with any programmatic questions at globalhc@umn.edu.
And finally, I would like to reiterate the guidance you have no doubt heard from the CDC regarding mitigation strategies—wash your hands, do not touch your face, and cough or sneeze into your elbow to reduce transmission. Beyond these basic actions, social distancing is one way we can slow the progress of the virus to hopefully reduce the burden on our healthcare systems. For up-to-date details, our neighbors at the U of M, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, have put together a COVID-19 Resource Center for more information regarding the virus and its impact.
A pandemic on this scale is not the first of its kind and, sadly, it will not be our last.
It does, however, showcase the need for preparedness rather than the reliance on response efforts. Not only has this predicament impacted the health of the world’s populations but also the world’s economies, relationships, and systems. During this time we will continue our global health efforts and continue to connect with our globally engaged community around the world. We thank you for your continued global health efforts as well.
Sincerely,
Shailendra Prasad MD MPH
Executive Director & Carlson Chair of Global Health
Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility
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