Global Health Institute

On Tuesday February 11, 2020, Dr. Deus Bazira, DrPH, MPH, MBA, BPharm, joined the School of Foreign Service’s ‘Conversations in Global Health’ class to discuss his experiences in the field of global health. Born in Uganda, Dr. Bazira guided the class through the academic and professional journey that led him to South Africa, Maryland, and ultimately Washington D.C. With a strong passion for learning, Dr. Bazira developed an interdisciplinary lens of law, public policy, business, and diplomacy with which to tackle his ultimate objective: strengthening health systems in emerging economies at both the policy and practice level. Through this lens, Dr. Bazira has been able to analyze global health systems and determine several ways by which they can be made more efficient for maximum humanitarian benefit. 

During our discussion, Dr. Bazira discussed the issues surrounding integrating the private sector into public health initiatives. Public-private partnerships, according to Dr. Bazira, are essential for the delivery of health services in developing countries. However, the profit motive of many pharmaceutical and private healthcare industries frequently creates obstacles for low-income communities’ access to health services. In his paper “Leveraging the Private Health Sector to Enhance HIV Service Delivery in Lower-Income Countries,” Dr. Bazira emphasizes the need for enabling policy, market incentives, and regulations that will allow the commercial sector to work cohesively with the public sector in order to optimize service provision in public health initiatives. He suggests that without meeting these criteria, universal health coverage — or “health for all” — are unrealistic goals. 

Dr. Bazira explained that the key to understanding Global Health is familiarizing oneself with the ins and outs of health systems. He passionately advocates for exploration through education; in order to truly understand the intricacies of the intersection between business, diplomacy, and healthcare, one has to be conversant in and knowledgeable about each field. Dr. Bazira gave several anecdotes about his experiences as a pharmaceutical expert working to advance health policy. He recalled realizing that in order to create change, he needed to gain academic expertise in business, specifically in management strategy. By employing the interdisciplinary lens that he had spent his career developing, Dr. Bazira was able to work with Ministers of Health, the World Bank, and pharmaceutical companies to create cohesive, collaborative plans for strengthening health systems across Africa. 

As a PreMed STIA major concentrating in Global Health and Biotechnology, Dr. Bazira instilled in me a curiosity for how to combine my interests in private medical practice with my broader aspirations of working towards health equity. I am inspired to discover how my education in Foreign Service and Medicine can help me contribute to this objective. I look forward to building off of Dr. Bazira’s insight in order to become the most effective patient advocate and promoter of health equity that I can be. 

Syona Hariharan (SFS ’22) is an undergraduate on the PreMed track studying Science, Technology, and International Affairs in Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. She is concentrating in Global Health and Biotechnology and minoring in Spanish.

On February 11th, 2020, the Conversations in Global Health course welcomed Dr. Deus Bazira, Co-Director of the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Practice and Impact (CGHPI), to reflect on his career path and provide insights into health care policy. Born in Uganda, Dr. Bazira’s naturally inquisitive demeanor led him to pursue a Bachelor’s in Pharmacy, Master’s in Public Health, Master’s in Business Administration, and a Doctorate from universities around the world. He epitomizes the mindset of a lifelong learner, and his desire to expand his skillset is never satiated: “I have the confidence to know what I know, and what I don’t know.” 

Dr. Bazira’s years of experience in various health systems and policy arenas aided in lending wisdom to those interested in a career in global health. He stressed the pertinence of engaging with individual community voices and truly understanding a health care system before working to improve it. Without a thorough knowledge of a health care system, it is impossible to discern the needs and best practices for that community. Local stakeholders must be involved at all levels of policy decisions to effectively instigate sustainable change. Dr. Bazira’s emphasis on uplifting local voices has been the catalyst for many of his successes, such as his work on the implementation of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) that resulted in 90% virological suppression​among people living with HIV receiving antiretroviral treatment through Center for International Health, Education, and Biosecurity programs. 

I found Dr. Bazira’s insights on the role of the private sector in leveraging health service delivery in developing countries particularly informative for future policymakers. Ideally, he envisions the private health sector as well-regulated, healthy competition to the public health sector that alleviates some of the burden on public health systems in many developing countries. While Dr. Bazira recognizes that private, for-profit health facilities can bar vulnerable populations from care, the role of sustainable market incentives​for the private sector to engage in public health initiatives must not be understated. However, the crux of any private health sector involvement is sufficient regulatory frameworks to ensure optimal quality of care. 

Dr. Bazira’s vigor for instituting measurable change in health systems left everyone in the room inspired. Ultimately, this conversation reinstated my passion for why I wanted to study global health in the first place and allowed me to reflect on how I can use my position to most sustainably and effectively serve those around me. 

Cameron Kelly (C ‘21) is an undergraduate studying Biology of Global Health and Spanish. She is also a research assistant for the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study.