Letter from the Editor

Abstract

Dear Reader,

We are excited to share The Columbia University Journal of Global Health Fall 2023 Issue  with you. As a journal we strive to uplift diverse perspectives that address the most pressing challenges to health equity faced by communities across the globe. This issue highlights the work of four academics, whose research explores themes of silence and confinement within healthcare systems. Ranging from the impacts of COVID-19 on incarcerated people to the overlooked struggles of obstetric fistulas among Ethiopian women, the articles critically examine the health environments of different marginalized groups. We hope you find their manuscripts to be insightful and thought-provoking. 

We have continued to host events that promote health and wellbeing in our community, including a food and nutrition event that brought together the expertise of Dr. Jessica Bihuniak, Assistant Professor of Clinical Nutrition in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at New York University, and the cooking skills of Columbia Gormand to discuss affordable, nutritious meals for college students. 

In our journal’s aim of highlighting student voices, we have been increasing our efforts in staff writing and publication. Our staff members have shared their perspectives on public health through our “What is Global Health?” blog and podcast, discussing important topics ranging from community health workers to asbestos in homes. Our most recent podcast features a discussion of careers in scientific research with Dr. Rachel Narehood Austin, Diana T. and P. Roy Vagelos Professor of Chemistry at Barnard College. On our blog, we were able to publish our first bilingual staff article “Obesity in Latine Communities in the U.S: What is at play? / Obesidad en Comunidades Latinas en Estados Unidos: ¿Qué está en juego?”. As we consider how to make our journal more accessible, we hope to continue to share staff perspectives across multiple subject areas and in multiple languages, furthering our journal’s mission of diversity and inclusivity.  

The past year has been an exciting one for our journal: we published ten new articles that accumulated almost 22,000 downloads and were accessed by over 10,000 site users from 143 countries. We are honored to publish work that has reached such a wide, diverse community, and we hope to continue to expand this impact with the publication of our Fall 2023 Issue. We also recently welcomed two new faculty advisors, Dr. Julianna A. Bol, PhD and Dr. Ana Navas-Acien, MD, PhD, MPH, who will assist our journal in this growth while maintaining the academic rigor that we have always been proud of. 

Our journal would not be possible without the dedication of our incredible team, which has grown in the past year. We are truly grateful for the support of our faculty advisor Esther Jackson, the resilience of our journal team, the insight of our peer reviewers, and the submissions from our authors. As always, thank you to our readers and listeners for engaging with our work and forming a vital part of The Columbia University Journal of Global Health community.

Sincerely,

Kairaluchi Oraedu & Ann Phan

Co-Editors-in-Chief, The Columbia University Journal of Global Health