The Global Health Delivery Project is a project at Harvard University, United States, that aims to improve health among disadvantaged populations worldwide by studying global health delivery and delivering that knowledge to practitioners.
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GHD was founded in 2007 by Dr. Jim Yong Kim, Dr. Paul Farmer and Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter. It operates with guidance from four pillars: Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Partners in Health.
The Global Health Delivery Project shares the knowledge it generates to enable practitioners to design, implement and improve delivery programs that maximize health benefits for vulnerable communities. Closing this gap between knowledge and practice requires building a field of study in health delivery. GHD’s contribution to this research is based on principles developed by the organization’s co-founder, Michael Porter:
GHD case studies
GHD develops global health case studies for the GHD curriculum and education programs, as well as contributing research tools in developing frameworks for health care delivery. GHD has developed more than 26 cases on topics, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, polio, maternal and child health, nutrition and tobacco control. The case studies follow the Harvard Business School model to explore successes and failures in health care delivery.
GHD education
GHD offers a health care delivery course for Harvard undergraduates, and graduate courses at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. The Global Health Effectiveness Program, piloted in 2009, consists of a 3-week session with classes in epidemiology, management science and GHD case studies. The inaugural class included 26 students and six visiting faculty from 17 countries. At Harvard Business School, the GHD curriculum has been included in health care delivery immersion and global health management courses. GHD also teamed up with the MIT Sloan School of Management on its Global Entrepreneurship Lab course.
GHDonline
GHDonline is an open collaboration platform developed by and for global health implementers and practitioners. GHDonline members share proven practices, connect with colleagues, and find tools to improve health outcomes in resource-limited settings.
GHD research
GHD research focuses on understanding and exploring solutions to the complex biological, social, economic and political problems involved in health care delivery.
GHD was part of the World Health Organization’s Maximizing Positive Synergies Project,” that investigated the interactions between global health initiatives and health systems. In preparation for the G8 Summit in July 2009, Julio Frenk, Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, presented results from the consortium’s work to a global audience of Ministers of Health.