CMB's 2017 Equity Fellows celebrated the conclusion of the first phase of their fellowship experience at the 2nd Annual Forum, held February 3-5 in Hua Hin, Thailand. The Fellows spent time finalizing plans for their second-year projects to advance health equity in the region and joined representatives of the 2016 cohort and incoming 2018 cohort for several days of interaction and bonding.

Since becoming a direct operating foundation, CMB has established residential offices in Beijing and Bangkok. New staff and new programs including Equity Fellows in Southeast Asia have been launched. A January-February Asian trip for Trustees Harvey Fineberg, Jane Henney, Jeff Koplan, and Jeff Williams enabled them to gain a better understanding of the nature of CMB’s China and Southeast Asia programming.

During the Project Accelerator workshop, held October 31-November 5 in Luang Prabang, Laos, the 2017 Fellows finalized proposals for the group projects they will carry out after their first fellowship year concludes in February 2018, on topics such as a pilot for community-led impact monitoring, research-based advocacy on the needs of Myanmar migrant workers, the role of community health workers, among other themes.