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2011 Lectures

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Forman: Haitian recovery difficult but not impossible

by The Chautauquan Daily on
Johanna Mendelson Forman began her lecture on Thursday with a chilling scenario. “If you can imagine a whole city … that is filled with tents, and you’re sleeping alone, and maybe you don’t even have a full tent around you; you don’t even have four walls, but you have blankets or quilts, sometimes blue plastic sheeting that’s given out by humanitarian agencies. There’s no electricity and no lights, so it’s dark,” she said. “And suddenly you hear a rustling, and then you hear the sound of the knife cutting through the sheeting. And before you can scream, a man, or a group of men — often they come in gangs — crashes through the opening. They grab you. They push you down. They rape you. And often, all of this is done in front of your children.”

Gayle: Global poverty and poor health are symbiotic

by The Chautauquan Daily on
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As a pediatrician at an inner-city hospital, Dr. Helene Gayle found herself treating the same patients over and over. These children weren’t necessarily facing a particular disease — their visits had more to do with their family situations, events they couldn’t solve on their own. “After a while, I realized that if I really wanted to have an impact on these children,” Gayle said, “it wasn’t by practicing individual medicine.”

Meleis: Empower the whole woman to promote worldwide well-being

by The Chautauquan Daily on
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It’s all about women, and she’ll explain why in fives. “For ancient Egyptians, five was for worship” — Dr. Afaf Meleis raised her right hand — “and it was for offerings” — she extended her right hand — “and it was on temples to keep the evil eye away, which now is the khamsa that’s used in so many cultures … (and) brings its owner happiness, luck, health, good fortune and safety. And that’s what we want to bring to women of the world.”

Hamre: America’s future depends on providing foreign aid

by The Chautauquan Daily on
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John Hamre, president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in Wednesday’s 10:45 a.m. lecture that America’s future as a global leader depends on developing political health as foreign aid. “There is just a profound disagreement on where we’re heading as a country with our politicians,” he said, referring to politicians on both sides of the spectrum. Hamre, who is also a former U.S. deputy secretary of defense, presented “Charting a Development Agenda in a Time of Austerity,” the third lecture for Week One’s theme “Global Health and Development as Foreign Policy.”

Froese: A health system to serve mothers is one for all

by The Chautauquan Daily on
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“What is the value of a mother’s life?” Then: “What is the value of your mother’s life?” These questions, posited by Dr. Jean Chamberlain Froese, the founder and director of Save the Mothers, began her presentation, “Am I My Sister’s Keeper: Addressing Maternal Mortality in the 21st Century.”
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Thurman: Health diplomacy must overcome religious and cultural barriers

by The Chautauquan Daily on
Tuesday’s lecturer Sandra Thurman, president and CEO of the International AIDS Trust, quoted Martin Luther King Jr. to convey her views on global health diplomacy: “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” The International AIDS Trust is a non-governmental organization that focuses resources to aid the worldwide battle against AIDS. The organization must overcome cultural and religious barriers abroad to take preventative action.

Farmer: Key to global health is community-based care

by The Chautauquan Daily on
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The screen behind Dr. Paul Farmer depicted a Rwandan man with a short gray beard on his chin, his lips curved into a vague smile. He wore blue cloth pants held up with a loose belt that dangled from his fragile hips. He had no shirt, drawing immediate attention to his frail body. His ribs protruded from underneath his skin, his arms nothing but bone covered with a thin layer of skin. In his right hand, he gripped a wooden walking stick. “I said upon meeting this man, whose name is John, ‘We have all the medications that we need to get you better,’” Farmer said.