Global Health Matters

“Trailblazers with Garry" is a series from Global Health Matters, where host Garry Aslanyan sits down with trailblazers — thinkers, leaders, and influencers shaping the future of global health — for short face-to-face conversations, available in both audio and video formats. It’s a chance to get to know the people behind the work and hear their perspectives on the current global health landscape.
 For this episode, Garry visited Professor John Gyapong at the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) in Accra, Ghana. Since taking up the role of Secretary General of ARUA in 2024, John has been passionately leading efforts to strengthen Pan-African research collaborations. Early in his career, and at a time when global attention was fixed on malaria, John chose instead to focus on neglected tropical diseases. Today, as a leader and educator, he remains deeply committed to Africans developing solutions for Africa and nurturing the next generation of research scientists. 

Related episode documents, transcripts and other information can be found on our website.

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Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Global Health Matters podcast series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of TDR or the World Health Organization.  

All content © 2026 Global Health Matters.

Dialogues is a series from the Global Health Matters podcast where we bring you interviews featuring fresh perspectives on global health issues. The goal of each Dialogues episode is to break through the echo chambers that exist in global health through in-depth, thoughtful conversations. 
In this episode of Dialogues, we take a deeper look at stigma and how often unconsciously we as global health professionals may be perpetuating it. Host  Garry Aslanyan is joined by Alex Brewis, Regents and Presidents Professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University, where she previously founded and directed the Centre for Global Health. As an anthropologist, Alex brings both rich field experience and deep academic insight, helping us reflect on the intentional and unintentional impacts of our global health efforts. 
Related episode documents, transcripts and other information can be found on our website.

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Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Global Health Matters podcast series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of TDR or the World Health Organization.  

All content © 2025 Global Health Matters.

Global Health Matters is the monthly podcast from TDR, please subscribe.  GHMs brings you topical subjects and insightful discussions with health experts from across the globe, including a focus on low-to middle-income countries.

Are you a professional looking to progress further or perhaps a global health student at the early stage of your career? There are so many routes to get into a career in global health, so this podcast episode discussion is with two career professionals sharing their knowledge of how they chose their path and giving clear guidance on ways to get the support needed to increase opportunities to make a difference in the ever pressing global health challenges.
 
Global Health Matters host Garry Aslanyan speaks with the following guests: 
Stephanie Topp: Associate Professor, Global Health and Development, College of Public Health, James Cook University
Renzo Guinto: Chief Planetary Health Scientist, Sunway Centre for Planetary Health and Director, Planetary and Global Health, St. Luke's Medical Center 
Stephanie Topp looks at how global health can support the next generation of thinkers and leaders, and suggests that networked capacity building and an emerging voices model is a critical example. Renzo Guinto wants to listen to different voices and challenge power structures to address the inequities that global health is trying to address.
Related episode documents, transcripts and other information can be found on our website.

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Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Global Health Matters podcast series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of TDR or the World Health Organization.  

All content © 2025 Global Health Matters.

In partnership with the World Health Summit for an episode recorded live at this year’s meeting in Berlin, host Garry Aslanyan sat down with Monica Bharel, Clinical Lead of Public Sector at Google, and Joy Phumaphi, Executive Secretary of the Africa Leaders Malaria Alliance. Global health knowledge sharing is rapidly evolving due to advances in technologies, increased data availability, stronger community engagement and the rise of voices beyond traditional institutions. Joy and Monica shared insights into building a more inclusive global health knowledge ecosystem—one that ensures communities everywhere can benefit from credible information, contribute their perspectives and take informed action.
Related episode documents, transcripts and other information can be found on our website.

Subscribe to the Global Health Matters podcast newsletter. 
 
Follow us for updates:
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Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Global Health Matters podcast series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of TDR or the World Health Organization.  

All content © 2025 Global Health Matters.

"Trailblazers with Garry" is a new series from Global Health Matters, where host Dr Garry Aslanyan sits down with trailblazers — thinkers, leaders, and influencers shaping the future of global health — for short face-to-face conversations, available in both audio and video formats. It’s a chance to get to know the people behind the work and hear their perspectives on the current global health landscape.
In this Trailblazers episode, host Garry Aslanyan sits down with Lena Nanushyan, First Deputy Minister of Health of the Republic of Armenia to speak about her work to strengthen tobacco control, a commitment that earned her a World No Tobacco Day Award from WHO in 2025. She also discusses Armenia's efforts to reduce high out-of-pocket health payments and how the country is moving closer toward universal health coverage.
Related episode documents, transcripts and other information can be found on our website.

Subscribe to the Global Health Matters podcast newsletter. 
 
Follow us for updates:
@TDRnews on X
TDR on LinkedIn
@ghm_podcast on Instagram
@ghm-podcast.bsky.social on Bluesky
 
Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the Global Health Matters podcast series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of TDR or the World Health Organization.  

All content © 2025 Global Health Matters.