A framework for reinitiating global academic exchange in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The rapid spread of SARS-COV-2 infections and the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of a global pandemic in March of 2020 led to widespread border restrictions, closures of educational institutions, and recalling of students and employees from abroad.1 Following the guidance by the United States (U.S.) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of State, universities and health systems instituted restrictions on international travel during the COVID-19 pandemic and global health partnerships largely discontinued the exchange of faculty and trainees.2 This hiatus in travel triggered a paradigm shift in global health, fostering virtual innovations and dramatic growth in online education and training, telemedicine, and videoconference-based collaborations.3-7 Virtual global collaborations are laudable for reducing inequities stemming from unidirectional travel from the global North to the South, decreasing the carbon footprint generated by international flights, enabling broader faculty involvement in global health initiatives, and creating greater access to educational opportunities across borders.4-6 This paradigm shift presents an opportunity to further the decolonization of global health by redirecting travel funding to support capacity building in low and middle-income countries, with remote and more cost-effective engagement by partners in high-income countries.3,6,8 While online collaboration offers clear benefits, many recognize that virtual exchanges fail to build partnerships based on interpersonal relationships and an in-depth understanding of context.4,5,7 In addition, synchronous video-conferencing can be limited by poor bandwidth, connectivity issues, power outages, and time-zone differences.4,7 Global health in the post-pandemic era is likely to become a hybrid model, with longitudinal virtual collaborations supported by more limited in-person exchanges. The challenge for institutions remains how to reinitiate in-person exchange safely and equitably across international borders in the face of an ongoing pandemic complicated by new strains of COVID-19.