The University of Notre Dame Eck Institute for Global Health has partnered with AIDS Free World, an international advocacy organization, to address health problems affecting the global poor.
Sarah Bosha, with two graduate degrees from Notre Dame (an LLM in International Human Rights from the Law School and a Master of Arts in International Peace Studies from the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies) is heading up the joint project. Bosha received her law degree, with honors, in her native country at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare. She has extensive experience in project management, research, and practice working in the areas of climate change, gender and women empowerment, transitional justice, public international law, and international human rights law. Bosha has worked internationally in areas including Botswana, The Netherlands, Tanzania, and Senegal before coming to the United States. Previously, she was employed as Project Coordinator at the Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture.
“My goal is to bring a new lens to looking at global health disparities with a concentration on women,” states Bosha. “Right now I am concentrating on the impact of epidemics, particularly cholera, on women. Past research has not indicated a distinction to consistently disaggregate information on epidemics by sex – the result is some outbreaks have sex disaggregated data, while others occurring in different countries do not. In order to develop and address long term control of epidemics such as cholera, data collection needs to take into account rates of infection and death in men and women.” Understanding how these disease impact women and men differently can influence future prevention and control interventions. “In my research on the Haitian cholera crisis, I was surprised to find that there was no sex-disaggregated data available on the rates of infection and death despite how recently the epidemic broke out.”
The specific project Bosha is leading will look at the gendered impact of cholera – focusing on the impact of the disease on women in Haiti. Currently, data collection roadblocks, such as gender distinction, need to be addressed before accurate assessments can be made.
Part of the partnership includes Bosha interacting with Notre Dame’s Master of Science in Global Health students. “I am looking forward to working with Notre Dame students and helping to expand their world views while also benefiting from their life experiences and views. Cultural awareness is a two-way street.” Bosha states.
“Adding Sarah to our institute widens both our research portfolio and academic resources,” notes Katherine Taylor, Associate Director of the Eck Institute for Global Health and Director of Global Health Training. “Sarah brings a vast amount of international research experience, specifically economic, social and political rights for grassroots human rights defenders. Her work will greatly enhance our research and training programs. I am looking forward to having Sarah interact, work with, and mentor our students who just arrived on campus. This is a unique opportunity for all of us.”
The University of Notre Dame’s Eck Institute for Global Health is a cross-disciplinary group of faculty whose research and teaching are dedicated toward finding and implementing solutions to global health challenges. Over 85 faculty serve the Institute’s global mission to promote research, training and service to advance health standards for all people, especially people of low- and middle-income countries and communities.
The Eck Institute for Global Health is a university-wide enterprise that recognizes health as a fundamental human right and endeavors to promote research, training, and service to advance health standards for all people, especially people in low and middle-income countries, who are disproportionately impacted by preventable diseases.
Contact Sarah Craig at: 574-631-2665 Craig.20@nd.edu