You are here

Responses

Article menu

Download PDFPDF

XML
Editorial
Global health degrees: at what cost?
Compose a Response to This Article
Compose Response

More information about text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Author Information
First or given name, e.g. 'Peter'.
Your last, or family, name, e.g. 'MacMoody'.
Your email address, e.g. higgs-boson@gmail.com
Your role and/or occupation, e.g. 'Orthopedic Surgeon'.
Your organization or institution (if applicable), e.g. 'Royal Free Hospital'.
Statement of Competing Interests

PLEASE NOTE:

  • A rapid response is a moderated but not peer reviewed online response to a published article in a BMJ journal; it will not receive a DOI and will not be indexed unless it is also republished as a Letter, Correspondence or as other content. Find out more about rapid responses.
  • We intend to post all responses which are approved by the Editor, within 14 days (BMJ Journals) or 24 hours (The BMJ), however timeframes cannot be guaranteed. Responses must comply with our requirements and should contribute substantially to the topic, but it is at our absolute discretion whether we publish a response, and we reserve the right to edit or remove responses before and after publication and also republish some or all in other BMJ publications, including third party local editions in other countries and languages
  • Our requirements are stated in our rapid response terms and conditions and must be read. These include ensuring that: i) you do not include any illustrative content including tables and graphs, ii) you do not include any information that includes specifics about any patients,iii) you do not include any original data, unless it has already been published in a peer reviewed journal and you have included a reference, iv) your response is lawful, not defamatory, original and accurate, v) you declare any competing interests, vi) you understand that your name and other personal details set out in our rapid response terms and conditions will be published with any responses we publish and vii) you understand that once a response is published, we may continue to publish your response and/or edit or remove it in the future.
  • By submitting this rapid response you are agreeing to our terms and conditions for rapid responses and understand that your personal data will be processed in accordance with those terms and our privacy notice.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Vertical Tabs

Other responses

Jump to comment:

  • Published on: 18 August 2020
    Equity and Access to Global Health Education: Focusing on the Fundamental Problem
    • A.M. Viens, Associate Professor of Global Health Policy & Director, School of Global Health York University
    • Other Contributors:
      • Oghenowede Eyawo, Assistant Professor of Global Health Epidemiology, School of Global Health

    Svadzian et al. [1] noted that most universities in high-income countries (HICs) demand higher tuition fees from low- and middle-income country (LMIC) students for masters-level global health degrees – a problem potentially further exacerbated by COVID-19, with many HIC universities increasing international tuition fees to make up a resultant funding deficit. [2] While the paper only focuses on masters-level global health degrees, it should be noted that some HIC universities, such as York University in Toronto, have long-standing undergraduate-level global health degree programs. Taking significantly longer to complete than masters degrees, these problems are felt to a greater extent for LMIC students who want to study global health as their first degree.

    The fundamental premise in their paper is that if HIC universities were serious about equity then they would be offering lower tuition fees (and scholarships to support living/travel costs) to students from LMICs. This presumes that merely lowering tuition or offering more scholarships would eliminate the primary access barrier for LMIC students, especially those from less privileged backgrounds. Unfortunately, this is sadly not the case. Even students with tuition waivers/scholarships can have difficulty obtaining visas to study at HIC universities.

    Student visas are a regressive tax on LMIC [3] – the requirements to obtain numerous documents that require certification, additional fee payments to an HIC-af...

    Show More
    Conflict of Interest:
    None declared.