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Global Health Delivery Case Studies

“The publication of these cases—online, and freely accessible to the practitioners, students and educators who will benefit most from them—is an important step toward closing the know-do gap in global health.”
– Dr. Paul Farmer, Harvard University

“I think of the [teaching] cases on a regular basis—remembering what others have done, relating that to the options available to me, and trying to use their lessons to inform my own decisions."
– Dan Schwarz, Nyaya Health, Nepal

GHD case studies now available at no cost
on Harvard Business Publishing

Access GHD Case Library
About GHD Cases  |  Q & A  |  Press Release

The Global Health Delivery Project and Harvard Business Publishing have released 21 teaching case studies in global health delivery. Each teaching case is a 13- to 19-page story describing a scenario that actually happened--complete with the constraints, including incomplete data, found in real global health situations. The teaching cases put readers in the roles of decision-makers to simulate real-life experiences and help students think through how to manage health programs in the context of a country’s political, economic and health situation. Every case study includes supplemental materials in the form of exhibits and appendices and there are accompanying teaching notes for instructors that offer suggestions to help stimulate and guide discussions. To our knowledge, this set of cases is the largest and most current body of work of this kind. Please visit http://ghdonline.org/cases/ to access the case studies.

Available online at no cost, these cases will increase access to training in global health delivery, helping to close a critical gap in the education of global health practitioners.

  • Countries featured in the current case studies include: Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Peru, South Africa, Thailand and Uganda.
  • Specific issues and scenarios described include: the development of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) treatment protocols and programs; efforts of one community based organization to improve voluntary counseling and testing of HIV/AIDS; how a non-governmental organization, which was one of the first to become involved with HIV/AIDS in Africa, scaled up its services.
  • Cases examine the principles of global health strategy, management and treatment and help readers understand the complexities surrounding implementation, expansion and sustainability.

This effort was set in motion by three leaders in global health and business strategy: Harvard University Professors Paul E. Farmer and Michael Porter, and Dr. Jim Y. Kim, now President of Dartmouth College. Four years ago, they initiated the creation of these case studies to help systemize the study of global health delivery and to rapidly disseminate knowledge to practitioners. The cases have been taught at Harvard Business School, Harvard College, the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, and MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

Harvard Business Publishing is supporting the online publication and distribution of the cases. The Global Health Delivery Project has received case development support from multiple sources including The Pershing Square Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard Medical School, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

For press inquiries, please contact press@ghdonline.org. For all other questions, please contact cases@ghdonline.org.

For a printable version of this information, please download the 1-pager (PDF).

Access GHD Case Library
About GHD Cases  |  Q & A  |  Press Release

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–Sheila Davis, Director of Global Nursing, Partners In Health, U.S.A., Assistant Professor of Nursing, Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions, and GHDonline Moderator

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