New study abroad program addresses global health issues in Ghana

UO’s Global Education Oregon (GEO) is partnering with professor Janis Weeks once again to lead their Global Health, Development, and Service Learning program in Accra, Ghana.

The program teaches students about contemporary issues of global health and development in Ghana. Students enroll in a service learning or internship experience of their choice three days a week, with one of more than 30 community-based institutions in fields related to health, environment, education, youth, gender and various other areas.Weeks is excited about the new program in Ghana because she sees it as a sign of increasing interest in global health at the UO. She currently teaches two courses on natural science in global health, and sees the new program in Ghana as a good opportunity for more science majors to study abroad.

Weeks is a neuroscientist, professor of biology at the UO and member of the African Studies Program. She has been involved in building research and education capacity in Africa for nearly 20 years. Her research, which focuses on technologies for discovering new drugs against devastating worm infections in humans, is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Students interested in the program can apply online.

Editor’s Note: This story is an updated version from a story written by Katherine Cook that ran in Around the O on April 7, 2014.