Global Health Institute

Having attended school in Washington, D.C., for the past three years, I know it is very easy to get caught up in politics. Although we try to engage in political discussion on Georgetown’s campus, debates are always split between multiple groups with different values. Organizations on campus claim to engage in bipartisan discussion, but truly it is one group trying to convince another who will not listen. True bipartisan organizations are difficult to find not only on Georgetown’s campus, but also within the U.S. government. The Global Health Council serves as one of these anomalies. The Global Health Council is an advocacy coalition in Washington, D.C., that advances interests of global health. Lobbyist organizations are often strongly partisan and can take control of government; however, the Global Health Council is a bipartisan organization that exhibits “lobbying for good.” On February 12, 2019, Loyce Pace, MPH, joined the Conversations in Global Health course to discuss her role as president and executive director of the Global Health Council.

At the start of January, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim unexpectedly resigned. Appointed by the Obama administration in 2010 and reappointed in 2016, he has left his position nearly three years early to join a private infrastructure investment firm. President Trump now has the power to appoint a new president, which has many people in the international community concerned. Many of the World Bank’s priorities clash with the view of the Trump administration, like climate change and foreign aid. In the past, President Trump has openly expressed skepticism of multilateral institutions.