Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine received a $10 million gift from Tadataka Yamada, MD, and Leslie D. Yamada to fund a new University of Michigan Center for Global Health Equity.
Within the center, university faculty and students will form cross-campus collaborations to develop solutions to global health inequality, such as initiatives to strengthen health systems, address social determinants of health and develop telehealth tools for remote delivery of advanced care in developing nations.
The center may also provide funding for pilot studies, compile global health data for research purposes and expand the university's global education curriculum.
Its concept was developed by a team led by Joseph Kolars, MD, senior associate dean for education and global initiatives at the university's medical school, and John Ayanian, MD, head of the university's Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, along with input from the Yamadas. Dr. Yamada previously served as the medical school's chief of gastroenterology and chair of the department of internal medicine.
"A great challenge of our time is that millions, mostly children in the poorest countries, die each year unnecessarily from illnesses that can be prevented or treated," the donors wrote in a release. "The University of Michigan's outstanding faculty across a broad array of disciplines and culture of working together make it uniquely able to address the challenge. We hope that our gift will help to catalyze action that will make a meaningful contribution toward correcting this unacceptable inequity."
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