CUGH 2025 Highlights Georgetown’s Impact in Global Health
The Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) held its sixteenth annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia, from February 20 to February 23, 2025, bringing together global health leaders from over 60 countries. The Georgetown University community was well represented, with over a dozen faculty, staff, and students from five different centers and schools. They led panels on artificial intelligence (AI) and the role of faith and trust in global health.
As the home to leading health institutions, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Carter Center, and American Cancer Society, Atlanta provided a unique setting for discussions centered on the theme “Innovating and Implementing in Global Health for a Sustainable Future.” Topics ranged from microplastics and emerging infectious disease prevention to sexual and reproductive rights.
The conference opened with remarks from Nancy Reynolds, Ph.D., R.N., incoming chair of CUGH, who emphasized the need for global solidarity and innovative solutions.
“In these unprecedented times, we have the opportunity to challenge ourselves, to think differently, deepen and extend our collaborative efforts, and work toward a global health movement that is resilient, inclusive, and sustainable.”
Technology and AI in Global Health
Katherine Robsky, Ph.D., MPH, an assistant professor in the Division of Internal Medicine and lead for epidemiology, surveillance, and data science at the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Practice and Impact (CGHPI), chaired the CUGH Research Committee’s pre-conference session on the application of technology and AI in global health. Presenters included Ibrahim Bola Gobir, MBBS, M.Sc., M.A., a field director for West and Central Africa at CGHPI and chief executive officer at Georgetown Global Health Nigeria(GGHN), and Saara Bidiwala (C’26), a research assistant at CGHPI and a spring 2024 GUGHI student fellow.
Gobir introduced the Jara Wellness Assistant (JWA), a chatbot that delivers personalized health information to users via WhatsApp. It was initially launched in Nigeria by GGHN and the REAN Foundation to provide information to patients living with HIV and TB. JWA has since expanded to Haiti, Kenya, and Botswana, tackling broader health issues like gender-based violence, teenage pregnancies, hypertension, and mental health.
Noting the rising burden of non-communicable diseases in Africa, Bidiwala discussed AI’s potential to alleviate the strain on health care systems. Through a multinational, multilingual scoping review of over 2,000 studies, Bidiwala is exploring AI’s role in drug development, diagnosis, and administrative tasks.
Partnering with Faith Communities to Strengthen Trust in Public
A consultative session on the Georgetown Commission on Faith, Trust, and Health featured Deus Bazira, DrPH, MPH, MBA, director of GUGHI and CGHPI; Katherine Marshall, M.A., MPA, a professor of the practice at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service; and Nate Smith, M.D., D.Min., MPH, M.A., an executive pastor at Trinity Anglican Church. The session was moderated by Amna Qayyum, Ph.D., the research program director of the Faith and Global Health Initiative.
Bazira spoke of the skepticism toward science and health care institutions, exacerbated by past unethical research practices, systemic inequities, and failures in public health communication. While technology has democratized access to health information, he explained, it has also fueled misinformation.
“Trust is the foundation of relationships between people, institutions, and systems. It shapes how we engage with science, health, and even faith. Yet trust is fragile. To rebuild it, we must recognize that it is not one-size-fits-all, as different communities trust in different ways.”
Marshall cited a Pew Research Center study of more than 230 countries and territories, which found that 84% of the world’s population identifies with a religious group. Despite secular trends in some regions, she pointed out that “faith, religion is aggressively, ferociously present in the world.” Religious leaders, Marshall noted, are often among the most trusted figures in many societies, making faith an essential partner in global health efforts.
Smith provided concrete examples of faith-health partnerships in action. In Kenya, the Kijabe Mission Hospital identified HIV stigma as a barrier to care. To address this, the hospital trained religious leaders using the same HIV support curriculum given to community health workers. As a result, faith leaders opened their churches for HIV support groups and provided pastoral care. “We learned that investing in these relationships beforehand makes all the difference when you really need help,” Smith said.
Following an interactive activity, the audience contributed 53 responses. The session concluded with Qayyum underscoring the importance of moving beyond “instrumentalizing faith communities for public health purposes” and instead seeking a two-way partnership between faith and health sectors.
Student Earns Award in Untold Global Health Stories Contest
Nina Chereath (G’25), a 2024-2025 GUGHI student fellow and a graduate student in the Master of Science in Global Health program, received an Honorable Mention in the Untold Global Health Stories of 2025 Contest for her submission, “Hikikomori in Japan.” The competition, co-sponsored by Global Health NOW and CUGH, showcases important yet underreported global health issues. Chereath’s submission focused on a severe form of social withdrawal, called hikikomori, affecting over half a million adolescents and young adults in Japan.
Looking Ahead to CUGH 2026
The next annual CUGH conference will be held in Washington, DC, from April 9 to April 12, 2026.