Global Health Case Competition 2023 in Atlanta

With support from the University of Copenhagen’s School of Global Health, the six students traveled to Atlanta 10-18 March to represent UCPH in this annual global health case challenge.

The UCPH team consisted of Sooyeon Kim (MA in Advanced Migration Studies), Nicolai Patrick Bøgh (MSc in Health Informatics), Alice Louise Vos (MSc Global Health), Caroline Lund (MSc in Psychology), Rikke Fischer (MSc in Anthropology) and Megan Doris Reid Hobbs (MSc in Disaster Management).

The theme of the competition was "Preventing Maternal Death in Haiti's Central PlateauHaiti has the highest maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in the Western hemisphere for a couple of decades since 2000, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). To be specific, the latest data from UNICEF indicated an MMR of 480 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in Haiti.

The UCPH student team proposed a community-based maternal health program targeting the prenatal period to reduce MMR in Cange, Haiti.

In their proposal, the UCPH student team highlighted the need for male involvement in decision-makings on healthcare and included measures in order to engage both men and women in improving maternal health.

Last but not least, the UCPH student team also argued the importance of intervening during the prenatal period in decreasing health literacy gaps and promoting early healthcare-seeking behavior.

This approach aimed to mitigate delays in seeking timely maternal prenatal care, which has been identified as a significant contributing factor to poor maternal health outcomes, including maternal mortality.

The majority of the student teams suggested a solution that centered on the prenatal stage in their interventions.

Through this collaboration, we were able to learn from their perspectives and expertise, enhancing our problem-solving and critical thinking skills while addressing a real-world global health challenge.

Through this experience, we were provided with a platform to connect with teams from diverse disciplines and multiple countries, offering an enriching experience, says Nicolai Patrick Bøgh, adding that this “Networking opportunity with other university students broadened their understanding of global health challenges and honed problem-solving skills.”

All in all, the UCPH student participants summarized their experience of participating in the Emory Morningside Global Health Case Competition 2023 as a rewarding and enlightening experience that deepened their understanding of global health challenges.

“We highly recommend this case competition to other students from the University of Copenhagen!”

Read more about the Emory Morningside Global Health Case Competition here.