Global Health: My New Way of Looking At the World

It is not easy to share my thoughts about my experience in the ISGlobal-UB Master of Global Health while still immersed in the course and engaged in the race for the finish line. But, if you think the Master programme might be what you are looking for, obviously now is the time you need to read this post. Far from trying to be inspirational, I have chosen to give a short account of my own experience, which may help to shed some light on your decision.

If you think this Master programme might be what you are looking for, now is the time you need to read this post

In my case, the decision to take this Master course was more than just a career move. Taking this step was a personal challenge that represented a clear decision to dedicate my time, efforts and talents to the vocation to which, until then, I had not given a name: global health.

I had always felt the need and the obligation to be on the side of those who suffer unjustly simply because they were born in the “wrong” place. I have always believed that the problems of the people over there were just as much the problems of the people over here. That disease has no respect for borders. That we all live in the same world. That inequality has faces, names, and surnames. And that while good intentions are good, they are still only intentions.

As a result I studied pharmacy, a discipline that taught me to value prevention and have respect for treatment, as well as kindling a constant concern for people’s wellbeing. I was also introduced to the darker side of pharmacy when our fine teachers and lecturers in the university taught us about neglected diseases, and gave an account of “unhealthy” health systems and a model of pharmaceutical innovation that neglected those who were most in need of help but represented the least profitable option.

The gift I have been given this year: a lot of questions and not many answers. What I have gained is a new way of looking at the world

Years later, my work in a pharmacy brought me into closer contact with patients and taught me how to listen, how to understand their concerns, and how to deal with them gently, patiently and carefully. My job also allowed me to spend a great deal of my free time learning and sharing experiences while working with various NGOs. Thus, I never lost my focus and my commitment to those faces of inequality, those people with names and surnames, who I met in Honduras and Uganda, but also in Madrid.

My personal history, together with a desire to continue my education and take a new direction, led me to look around at various options, and when I came across the Master of Global Health, I sensed that the programme could be just what I was looking for.

I am very grateful for this opportunity to discover the compelling world of global health and to understand that it is a road on which we still have a long way to go

Eight months later, I can say that the questions I brought into the programme have been transformed into many more questions and very few answers. Disappointing, no? Not really. Because, that is precisely the gift I have been given this year: a lot of questions and not many answers. What I have gained is a new way of looking at the world, and many more tools to help me understand its complexity from a holistic standpoint; tools that go beyond medicine, pharmacy and biology, tools I can use to analyse the world around me.  And I gained all that working together with great classmates, people from there and from here, people with very diverse experiences and different ways of seeing the world. I gained it from excellent teachers, professionals and researchers, who were able to communicate their experience to us in class, and motivate us to learn and develop our capacity for critical thought and who brought us closer to the reality of global health through the example of their own work and dedication.

In short, I am very grateful for this opportunity to discover the compelling world of global health and to understand that it is a road on which we still have a long way to go as well as much to learn, understand and build; and a space where there is always room for the riches of many disciplines, cultures, perspectives and points of view, which come together to work towards a world where the right to health will no longer be a challenge but rather a reality for every one of us.

More information

ISGlobal-UB Master of Global Health

7 Things You'll Learn in the Master of Global Health