Making Their Voices Heard: Dartmouth Students Visit Capitol Hill for Global Health Education Advocacy
Dartmouth students, Kaveri Krishnamoorthy D’28, Shandy Ndjigue MPH’25, and Olivia Schneider MPH’25, traveled to Capitol Hill in late March with Geisel School of Medicine’s Lisa V. Adams MED’90, Center for Global Health Equity (CGHE) director and associate dean for global health; Patricia Doykos D’86, CGHE board chair and member of Geisel’s Board of Advisors; and Rosie Poling of Boston-based Partners in Health to meet with congressional representatives to advocate for global health education and training.
In preparation for these important meetings, students received remote and in-person intensive advocacy training to effectively communicate both their personal experiences and concerns about critical global health education issues.
After an early breakfast meeting with Emily Burlij, Dartmouth's director of federal relations, the advocates split into two teams meeting with representatives from their congressional officers from New Hampshire, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Each advocated for expanded global health training and its proven benefits while sharing supporting data indicating that most of such trainees go on to work in domestic underserved communities. During these sessions, the teams highlighted the bipartisan-supported Dr. Paul Farmer Global Health Training Grant Act which would fund global health experiences for U.S. trainees.
“Participating in Advocacy Day on the Hill in Washington, D.C. was an extraordinary opportunity,” Ndjigue said. “Speaking with congressional staffers about the importance of global health residency programs allowed us to emphasize how international experiences shape physicians’ ability to deliver exceptional care at home, highlighting the urgent need for greater investment.
“Training abroad directly translates to addressing rural health challenges in the U.S., as many foreign-trained doctors serve in underserved and rural communities. As an aspiring global health professional who is Cameroonian-American, advocating for these programs reaffirmed the importance of improving our communities, both globally and locally.”
Impressed by both the commitment to and persuasiveness of the students’ stories, Adams commended the students for giving up two days of their well-deserved spring break to make this 36-hour whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C.
“This was their first advocacy experience, and they appreciated the opportunity to make their voices. They all did an outstanding job of representing Dartmouth with their composure, confidence, and eloquence—and the congressional staffers were interested in hearing their perspectives.”
Schneider said, "It was a great experience talking about issues that I care about with legislators who have the power to change things. Going to D.C. was one of the most tangibly impactful experiences I have had.”
