Annual Global Health Equity Symposium
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The symposium brings together global health professionals, students, and community leaders to reflect on innovative solutions to health inequities.
It included presentations from ETH’s Global Health Experiential Fellowship (GHEF) fellows, who shared findings from six summer research projects conducted in Uganda this year, covering topics such as mental health, family planning, and education access.
The event concluded with a dynamic panel discussion—“Community-Based Mental Health in Uganda: Rural and Urban Perspectives”—with leading experts in global mental health, introduced below.
Stay tuned for next year's Global Health Equity Symposium!
2025 Panelists
Dr. Robert Rosenheck
Dr. Robert Rosenheck is a Professor of Psychiatry and Public Health at Yale Medical School. A globally recognized mental health services researcher, Dr. Rosenheck specializes in cost-effectiveness studies and the evaluation of large health care systems. As the founding Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Northeast Program Evaluation Center, he spent 22 years evaluating and disseminating mental health programs across the VA system. With over 900 publications, his research spans mental health, quality of care, homelessness, and the cost-effectiveness of treatments for serious mental illness and PTSD. His global work includes projects in China, Brazil, Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda, and he has received numerous awards from the American Psychiatric Association and American Public Health Association.
Dr. Moses Okumu
Dr. Moses Okumu is an Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, originally from Uganda, with expertise in mental health, social work, community resilience, and youth empowerment. He earned his PhD from the University of Toronto and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill . His research focuses on developing, implementing, and evaluating digital and technology-based interventions to support sexual and mental health among vulnerable youth in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly displaced and refugee populations in Uganda. Currently, much of his work investigates eHealth literacy and digital interventions aimed at promoting resilience and well-being in marginalized communities.
Dr. Scholastic Ashaba
Dr. Scholastic Ashaba is a highly accomplished academic and mental health specialist serving as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), located in southwestern Uganda. She holds an MBChB, an MMed in Psychiatry, and a PhD, and is recognized for her leadership in both teaching and research. Her research intersects psychiatry, public health, and HIV-related mental health. Her work includes seminal contributions on adolescents and young adults living with perinatally acquired HIV, psychosocial challenges tied to HIV status disclosure and mental health among children and adolescents. Dr. Ashaba’s broader scholarly interests include developmental studies, social exclusion, psychotherapy, community development, and empowerment in developing countries. Her interdisciplinary approach underscores a commitment to blending mental health research with community-based solutions and health system strengthening.