Scottish academics will travel to Malawi to celebrate an important milestone with Malawian graduates who have influenced international health.
Experts from the Institute of International Health and Development (IIHD), based at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, will reunite with graduates at a celebratory event which marks the Institute’s 20th anniversary. The alumni event, which will take place on 7 May 2013 in Lilongwe, Malawi, will bring together an impressive group of international health graduates who have positively influenced international health and development in Malawi and beyond.
Since the time when the Scottish missionary David Livingstone first visited the Malawi in the mid 19th century, Scotland has enjoyed a special relationship with the country. Links with Malawi have been further strengthened over the last few years following various Scottish Government initiatives which have encouraged collaboration.
Queen Margaret University has a long standing association with Malawian scholars in the field of global health and social development. Attracting students from all over the world, IIHD has seen 37 Malawians graduate from the Institute with a Masters or PhD diploma. Many of these graduates have gone on to hold senior positions within the Malawian government, charitable health organisations and leading universities – all have made a significant contribution to the development of international health policies and social development in Malawi. Some of their influence will have also been felt far beyond Malawi, in other areas of Africa and further afield.
The Institute for International Health and Development specialises in delivering world class teaching and research in the areas of global health and social development. The alumni event in Malawi is being supported by some of the Institute’s most prominent graduates including Jimmy Dixon Gama, who graduated with an MSc in Social Development and Health in 2003. Jimmy went on to complete a PhD with IIHD in 2009 and now lectures at the College of Medicine in the University of Malawi, specialising in health systems management, health policy and reproductive health. Kibble Ngalauka graduated with an MSc in Social Development and Health from IIHD in 2005, and went on to become a design and development specialist for the organisation, World Vision Malawi. Rose Kumwenda-Ng’oma, Executive Director of the Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM), is also a former IIHD graduate, having achieved an MSc in Social Development and Health in 2002.
Professor Barbara McPake, Director of the Institute for International Health and Development, explained:- “This a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the global reach which has been achieved by the Institute over the last 20 years and on the successes of our graduates. It is very satisfying to see the ripple effect from partnerships of an international mix of staff and students, having such positive outcomes in other countries. “
Professor McPake concluded: “We are very proud to continue developing this important and meaningful relationship between Scotland and Malawi. We look forward to celebrating with Jimmie, Kibble, Rose, and many other illustrious alumni, and to developing new relationships with important stakeholders in the Malawian health sector.”
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