This October, highly-acclaimed documentary Bending the Arc was released on Netflix, intriguing audiences globally with its gripping narrative chronicling real-world heroes at the center of some of the world’s most pressing humanitarian crises. Through raw, unabashed footage, the film documents the fledgling beginnings of their social justice movement in the 1980’s, to the establishment of a revolutionary health model which, through the birth of Partners in Health (PIH) and latterly the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE), is now radically transforming public health. 

In honor of the release, UGHE hosted a special event uniting these unstoppable health advocates three years after the film’s premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.  PIH co-founders Dr. Jim Yong Kim, Ophelia Dahl, and Dr. Paul Farmer; PIH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joia Mukherjee; UGHE Vice Chancellor Prof. Agnes Binagwaho, and UGHE Co-Founder & Member of the Vice Chancellor’s Advisory Board Dr. Peter Drobac discussed the enduring bonds of friendship as the golden thread to their equity agenda, and drew parallels between the challenges addressed in the film to where we are today facing COVID-19, citing the Rwandan health success story.

Just as the film shows the possibility of ‘bending the arc’ of the moral universe closer to justice, so UGHE and its mission serve as a continuum of this trajectory, training the future’s global health leaders to both embrace and advocate for equity and social justice. Speakers discussed UGHE as a linchpin in helping us reimagine global health, and an institution that can, and will be, a catalyst to building a better, more equitable world in the wake of this pandemic.

Prof. Agnes Binagwaho closed the session by looking forward. Whilst since 2015, UGHE has developed into a leader of global health education, it is now  preparing to expand its impact within the next phase of its development; on our hill in Rwanda, and within new sites across the world.

We hope you enjoy watching a consolidation of the event below.

Watch the full event here.