Program on Global Health & Human Rights (GHHR) Director Sofia Gruskin traveled to Brazil in December after being invited by the University of Sao Paulo and the Federal University of Bahia to determine areas for future collaboration. Gruskin, who moved from the Harvard School of Public Health to establish GHHR at the University of Southern California Institute for Global Health in 2011, has worked in Brazil for more than 15 years.
At the University of Sao Paulo, Gruskin also participated in a conference where she presented on, “The contexts of violence and sexuality: expanding the framework of human rights to consider the social vulnerability of youth” and served as a discussant on the panel, “South-to-South collaboration with the vulnerability and human rights frameworks.”
At the Federal University of Bahia, Gruskin presented to faculty and students a plenary lecture titled, “Health and Human Rights: From Concepts to Impacts for Collective Health.” During her visit, Gruskin was featured in a news spot by two Brazilian news networks:
UOL, a Brazilian media network, interviewed Gruskin:
ARTICLE: “Casos de Aids aumentam 150% na Bahia e pacientes têm acesso tardio ao tratamento” – UOL
VIDEO: “Novos casos da AIDS aumentam em mais de 150% na Bahia” – globo.com
Gruskin’s visits occurred simultaneously with another USC initiative to build ties in Brazil. In December, USC sent a delegation of deans to visit the country’s top universities, policymakers and corporations. Gruskin interacted with this visit and is now working to foster partnerships and exchanges that will benefit students, faculty and researchers across USC
