Videos and web resources for Section 11, Health Systems and Aid.
HEALTH SYSTEMS
This Won’t Hurt a Bit – We the Economy
This humorous and engaging video starring many famous faces illustrates the economic distortions in the American health system. (10 min)
Interactive Maps and Data – The Commonwealth Fund
This website has a variety of interactive maps focused on the United States, particularly regarding state-by-state variations in the Affordable Care Act.
The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care
This interactive website allows students to investigate variations in spending and care provision across the United States. While students will likely need some guidance in interpreting this information, it is an excellent supplement to instructor lectures on the US health care system.
Donka: X-Ray of an African Hospital
This feature-length documentary explores the challenges facing Donka Hospital in Conakry, Guinea.
HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH
Africa: House Calls and Health Care – NOW on PBS
This documentary explores Partners in Health’s Accompagnateur (Community Health Worker) program in Rwanda. This video is a good, basic introduction to the theory and practice of community health worker programs. (25 min)
Nurses and Doctors – Global Health Workforce Alliance
This introduction to brain drain and task shifting focuses on compelling examples from Malawi and Pakistan. (8 min)
Liberia after Ebola: Turning Midwives into Surgeons
This case study in task-shifting describes a program in Liberia training midwives in Caesarean sections. (14 min)
No One Should Die Because They Live Too Far from a Doctor – Raj Panjabi
In this Ted Talk, Raj Panjabi talks about his project, Last Mile Health, which trains, supports and pays community health workers. (20 min)
Medical Doctors Per 1,000 People – DataMarket
This interactive website allows students to compare the availability of doctors between different countries and over time.
HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH: THE CUBAN SOLUTION
Debt-Free Doctors Part of Cuba’s Foreign Policy Strategy – PBS NewsHour
This news report explains the methods and motivation behind Cuba’s innovative strategy to train doctors to reach underserved populations globally. (8 min)
Salud
This feature-length documentary explores Cuba’s medical schools.
This short documentary follows Cuban doctors in Haiti. (25 min)
POLIO ERADICATION IN PAKISTAN
Every Last Child – Tom Robbins
This excellent feature-length documentary explores the difficulties in eradicating polio in Pakistan.
INTERNATIONAL AID
In this funny and perceptive music video, Africans band together to provide aid for freezing Norwegians. (4 min)
The Foreign Aid Paradox – We the Economy
This short film explores the history and present of American foreign aid. It engagingly describes the start of USAID after World Wart II, and clearly illustrates the political motivations behind aid. It also introduces some of the complicated consequences of food aid. (10 min)
Case Studies for Global Health
These short case studies, a few pages each, highlight a range of successful collaborations in global health. They are excellent resources for students interested in success stories in the field.
Poverty, Inc.
This feature-length film examines some striking negative consequences of the “aid industry” and argues for supporting entrepreneurism rather than aid. While the film presents them in a positive light, such market-based “solutions” are also controversial, since expanding the reach of capitalism often does not lead to increased equity.
This feature-length film looks at the unintended consequences of development projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Focusing on Kenya, it tells the story of large-scale development projects from the point of view of those who suffer as a result of those projects.