The second cohort of Equity Initiative Fellows embarked on the Asia Trek component of their fellowship program, which was held August 13-20 in Manila, Philippines. Fellows met with key health actors and policymakers over the course of this one-week experiential immersion, helping them to examine global health equity issues through a regional lens, with the goal of sparking dialogue, critical thinking, and problem analysis.

Dr. Ariel Pablos-Méndez, the former Assistant Administrator for Global Health at USAID, shared his rich experience in the field of global health with about 100 faculty members and students at Peking Union Health Science Center on May 17.  His lecture, titled “The Changing World of Global Health,” presented the changing global context for health, the economic transition of health, and its implications on global health.

The China Consortium of Elite Teaching Hospitals for Residency Education Consortium was launched in 2015 to spearhead reform of residency education in the country. Six members of the Consortium are pursuing reform through conducting self-studies of their respective programs. At a March workshop in Guangzhou, supported by CMB, 40 participants representing 6 elite hospitals shared their preliminary assessments on the strengths and weaknesses of their residency education programs, as well as future opportunities and challenges.

On February 1, 2017, the new CMB Foundation office in Bangkok was inaugurated by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. With the joint support of The Atlantic Philanthropies, CMB opened an office on Sukumvit Road in Bangkok as a regional hub for its work in the region, especially the Transformative Leadership for Health Equity Initiative. The Equity Initiative (EI) aims to cultivate 500 next generation leaders and build communities for health equity in the ASEAN region plus China over the coming 20 years.