Public health does not mean the same thing everywhere. Ms. Belinda-Rose Young, MSPH in 2012 from the USF College of Public Health, teaches at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. Asked if she teaches public health, her answer is mixed and even elicits a mild chuckle.
“Well … yes and no,” she said “I’m teaching courses from a public health perspective, but they primarily fall into different disciplines, because unfortunately, public health isn’t developed as well in the Caribbean. Public health here tends to be thought of as just making sure that buildings are up to code.”
“The course that I’m developing is to teach people how to navigate in foreign communities, how to develop relationships with stakeholders, and how to do interventions. However, it’s under the discipline of social work.”
As a member of U.N. Women, Ms. Young concerns herself more with another inequity altogether, and that concern has landed her a position as a Women’s Economic Empowerment Champion, one of 44 worldwide chosen from about 800 professionals out to promote economic empowerment of women. Notably, Ms. Young also is a Shot@Life Champion for the U.N. Foundation.
“U.N. Women overall has a mandate that is global, so that’s a huge distinction, first of all. The only U.N. entity that has a global mandate is U.N. Women,” she said. “And that mandate is simply to empower women economically and close the gender inequality gap.”