Essentials of Global Health: a book for students, by students
Authors: Anand Bhopal, Daniel Knights, Felicity Knights, Laura Bertani, Anya Gopfert, Renzo Guinto, Freya Langham, Alexandre Lefebvre, Eleanor Turner-Moss, Waruguru Wanjau, Elizabeth Wiley, Parveen Kumar, Babulal Sethia
Journal: The Lancet Global Health (2018)

At the turn of the millennium, a Lancet Editorial1The LancetEducating doctors for world health.Lancet. 2001; 358: 1471Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (15) Google Scholar opened with the following sentence: “If one word comes to define the 21st century, it is likely to be globalisation.” Around the same time the first bachelor's degrees in international health were being introduced; and nearly 20 years later the question is: will there be enough jobs for global health professionals?2Eichbaum Q Evert J Hall T Will there be enough jobs for trained global health professionals?.Lancet Glob Health. 2016; 4: e692-e693Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (7) Google Scholar As an act of solidarity in the fallout of World War 2, the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) was formed in 1951 by medical students from ten European countries. Today, the IFMSA represents 1·3 million medical students from 127 countries, active in drawing attention to the dimensions of power that shape health inequalities and their upstream determinants, underpinned by the legitimacy of its truly global membership. In 2012 a meeting between Babulal Sethia and Parveen Kumar, both recent Presidents of the Royal Society of Medicine (London, UK), and representatives from Students for Global Health (then known as Medsin) catalysed the genesis of a novel idea: a global health textbook for students, by students. What ensued was a comprehensively collaborative process, with young people co-designing the content outline, recruiting internationally diverse authors (drawing heavily from the IFMSA network), and editing initial drafts of submissions. After 6 years of perseverance, the first edition of Essentials of Global Health was officially launched on April 12, 2018, at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, celebrating a partnership that drew on the energy and motivation of students and the expertise of senior editors. This book provides a useful model for future endeavours. The project drew together more than 120 students and young professionals from over 30 countries, ranging from the Netherlands to Nigeria, representing the diversity of global voices widely recognised as key to success throughout international development. The result is a concise yet comprehensive pocket-sized summary of subjects as varied as universal health coverage, non-communicable diseases, and natural disasters, alongside an introduction to key principles, concepts, and tensions in global health debates. It is infused with the dynamism of a generation of authors moving beyond theoretical understanding to advocacy and action. Throughout the book, case studies highlight what young people across the world are already doing to positively effect global health. Globalisation poses implicit threats, but also opportunities for global health. Essentials of Global Health simultaneously helps the community to better understand these factors while harnessing the multidirectional flow of people, ideas, and opportunities of an increasingly interconnected world. As is powerfully articulated by the young authors throughout this book, injustices can no longer be seen as unfortunate circumstances to tolerate, but problems that a growing movement is determined to overcome. For details about purchasing the Essentials of Global Health book see https://www.elsevier.com/books/essentials-of-global-health/sethia/978-0-7020-6607-8# For details about purchasing the Essentials of Global Health book see https://www.elsevier.com/books/essentials-of-global-health/sethia/978-0-7020-6607-8# The royalties from the Essentials of Global Health book are being donated to a grant fund for student global health projects. Elsevier is committed to ensuring the book is widely available in low-income countries. Please contact Elsevier for further details. The book is available for purchase online. We declare no competing interests. Will there be enough jobs for trained global health professionals?At the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) annual conference in San Francisco in April, leading educators in breakout session discussions expressed concern at the increasing number of global health programmes being offered at universities in high-income countries in Europe and North America. Student demand for global health training is clearly robust, but we don't yet know much about the demand side of the global health training–employment equation. Global health trainers and trainees are increasingly concerned that the output of people trained for, and seeking jobs in, global health may outstrip job opportunities in the field. Full-Text PDF Open Access