The Harvard Global Equity Initiative seeks to advance the understanding and tackle the challenges of equitable development.
Global inequity among people – based on gender, ethnicity, health status, culture – and between and within nations and regions – is one of the greatest challenges of our times. Severe disparities exist not only in wealth, but in health, education, economic opportunity, human security and democratic freedom. Despite its urgency and importance, our understanding of the forces behind, the consequences of and the remedies for severe inequity continue to be critically limited. The path to a fairer and more just world is far from clear.

The Initiative brings together scholars, policy-makers, advocates and practitioners from around the world to address these challenges through interdisciplinary dialogue and by contributing evidence and research. The Initiative also supports the next generation of scholars and researchers, young leaders who will bring a passionate and professional to promoting equitable development.

International Symposium: “Breast Cancer in the Developing World: meeting the unforeseen challenge to women, health and equity”
Breast cancer is an important, previously unforeseen challenge to women and to health in developing countries. It is a leading cause of death among women worldwide. Moreover, breast cancer has been overlooked in low and middle-income countries in terms of priority settings in health policy and health sector reform. In order to address this important challenge, HGEI co-organized an International Symposium “Breast Cancer in the Developing World: meeting the unforeseen challenge to women, health and equity,” which was held at Harvard University between November 3-5, 2009. The meeting brought together scholars, practitioners, policy-makers and advocates from all regions of the world, with 37 countries represented. Importantly, an inter-institutional, cross-disciplinary dialogue was initiated and working collaborations have been established. All conference materials, including the opening speeches and plenary sessions can be found on the HGEI website.