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USAID assistant administrator Atul Gawande lauds community health models at JHSPH convocation
Dean Ellen J. MacKenzie awarded Gawande and Bharat Biotech founder Krishna Ella, the Dean’s Medal, the school's highest honor.
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Atul Gawande delivers keynote address at JHSPH 2024 convocation ceremony / Image - USAID
Atul Gawande, the assistant administrator for global health at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in his keynote address at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) convocation ceremony emphasized on the role of community health models in elevating public health.
Village health volunteers make monthly house calls as part of Thailand's community health system, which Gawande praised for its success thanks to the country's universal healthcare system and neighborhood clinics. As a result of this model, the average lifespan in Thailand has increased by ten years.
“The volunteers receive just 50 hours of training and a small stipend. But they are experts in caring, recognizing suffering, and coaxing residents to take the measures that will help them,” The Indian American physician noted.
Gawande emphasized the importance of caring in public health. “Caring is at the heart of what you have to offer as public health professionals, and you offer it at the scale of communities, perhaps even nations,” he told the graduates.
“You have learned how to diagnose a community’s needs and effectively connect them to an ever-growing storehouse of knowledge and capabilities. You have learned how to see their reality and to serve it. There are many, many roles and places in which to do this difficult and necessary work. Your mission is now to find yours.”
At USAID, Gawande oversees a bureau with more than 900 staff members, advancing equitable delivery of public health approaches globally. He has also been a practicing surgeon, nonprofit founder, and bestselling author.
During the ceremony, Dean Ellen J. MacKenzie honored Gawande and Krishna Ella, with the Dean’s Medal, the highest recognition the Bloomberg School confers on public health leaders.
Dr. Krishna Ella was awarded the @JohnsHopkinsSPH Highest Medal of Honour for Exceptional Work in Public Health. Dean @EllenJMacKenzie presented the Dean’s Medal to Dr. Ella recognising his invaluable contributions to global health. #PublicHealth #Leadership pic.twitter.com/s18WTBZcVF
— Bharat Biotech (@BharatBiotech) May 24, 2024
Ella, founder and executive chair of Bharat Biotech International Limited, has guided the India-based company to become a global leader in developing affordable vaccines. Bharat Biotech has supplied billions of vaccine doses worldwide, saving millions of lives, particularly among vulnerable children. Ella has also contributed to veterinary vaccines, food processing, and biotechnology infrastructure development.
The event, held at Homewood Field on Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus, celebrated the Class of 2024, which included 1,273 graduates from 66 countries, among them 129 doctoral and 1,156 master’s degree recipients.
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