There is a Mascoma health Initiative in Canaan and Enfield with involvement from the hospital, the college and DMS, This is a local initiative which should be co-ordinated by a single group. They do not know about this group and we don't know what they hope to achieve. we don't need to be in charge, but I think we need to say they are as important as other "global" needs.

I think the single most important thing that Dartmouth could do in global health is to turn out a steady stream of graduates (from the College, DMS, Thayer and Tuck) whose passion and interest is global health. The multiplier effect that could have in the decades to come would likely surpass any of the shorter term projects likely to arise from this initiative.

To that end, I think we should develop a coordinated curriculum on internationalism that includes all the disciplines from the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences that touch on global health. One can envisage it being one of the College programs offering a major or minor and as a block of course offerings for DMS, Tuck or Thayer students. DMS, for example, devotes precious little attention to this subject in the first two years of the curriculum in a coordinated way and to place it later in the curriculum is too late. Within the College, organization of currently offered courses coupled with the development of a few new courses could offer a rigorous and comprehensive overview of what it means to be a citizen of this planet and what obligations accrue from that citizenship.

I agree with Lee, but would add that it is vital to show students how to act on these passions. We don't need a generation of "armchair liberals," we need people who are actively engaged in creating solutions.

There are two perspectives that get in the way of creating change. The first is the belief that global poverty and disease are unfortunate but that eliminating them is not our responsibility. The second is that the problems are so enormous that we will never be able to solve them. Both of these perspectives are wrong, and both need to be addressed directly if we are to develop a generation of true global citizens.