Editors’ welcome

Abstract

Tēnā koutou katoa and welcome to Issue 34 of Te Hautaka o ngā Akongā Rongoā, the New Zealand Medical Student Journal (NZMSJ). The theme of this issue is “Global Health,” which is an important topic for medical students and health professionals. It is our privilege to share with our readers a wide range of insightful and high-quality articles by health care professional students, clinicians, and academics from Aotearoa and abroad. Global health has been thrust into the spotlight by the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but it has long been a focus of international collaboration. The United Nations published its sustainable development goals (SDGs) in 2012 and included its third goal: to “ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.”1 The wording of this SDG reflects the changing perspective of global health as an entity. Inequity is now recognised as the fundamen- tal obstacle that must be overcome in pursuing health and wellbeing for all. Inequity takes many different forms, including a lack of access to health care and the continuing disparities in representing certain groups in research and decision-making.2,3 In this complex health land- scape, at the crossroads of geopolitical, socioeconomic, and biophysi- cal influences, it can be challenging to know where we fit in as medical students and clinicians with a passion for global health. The scale of the task at hand can also be overwhelming, especially for those just beginning their journey. We believe current and future health care professionals in Aotea- roa have a vital role in our collective global health. Through education and sustainable changes, the ambitious goals that we see can become achievable. We hope that this issue of the NZMSJ will highlight the stories of people who have found diverse opportunities in global health and inspire a new generation of health professionals to con- tribute to this critical work.