Shaping the Future of Global Health: Co-Creating the CGHI Community Call
Introduction
At the Coalition for Global Health Innovation (CGHI), we believe that young leaders must not only participate in global health conversations — we must help shape the future of global health.
This belief is not rhetorical. It is operational.
About CGHI
CGHI is a youth-led, youth-serving global nonprofit bringing together 100+ young leaders from 40+ countries across six continents, spanning disciplines, lived experiences, and policy contexts. This diversity is not incidental to our work; it is our core strength.
One of the ways we activate this strength is through our biweekly CGHI Community Call.
Why the Community Call Matters
The Community Call is more than a meeting. It is a deliberate space for dialogue, reflection, and collective learning.
It exists to:
Create a consistent and trusted global forum for exchange
Bridge generational, geographic, and disciplinary divides
Strengthen leadership, analytical, and policy-thinking capacities among young professionals
Support the development of future leaders capable of advancing equitable and inclusive global health policies
In a field as complex and political as global health, these spaces matter. Progress depends not only on technical expertise, but on the ability to listen, question, and engage across difference.
Why We Are Inviting Members to Co-Create
Global health challenges are deeply contextual. No single individual, institution, or discipline holds all the answers.
For this reason, we are inviting CGHI members to co-create and curate the themes for our Community Calls.
By shaping the agenda together, we aim to:
Promote collaborative agenda-setting and knowledge co-creation
Elevate perspectives that are often underrepresented in global health spaces
Move beyond passive participation toward meaningful, collective dialogue
Ensure each call remains relevant, timely, and grounded in real-world experience
Every two weeks, we convene a global room where any global health issue can be thoughtfully discussed — together. Few spaces offer this level of continuity, diversity, and shared purpose. We believe it is a responsibility to use that space intentionally.
What Co-Creation Looks Like at CGHI
At CGHI, co-creation is not symbolic consultation. It is shared intellectual and community leadership.
Members are invited to contribute by:
Proposing themes or guiding questions for future Community Calls
Highlighting emerging, neglected, or contested global health issues
Suggesting interdisciplinary lenses (policy, ethics, economics, culture, technology, decolonial approaches)
Framing discussions around lived experiences, country contexts, or case studies
Volunteering to help introduce or co-facilitate a Community Call
No idea is too early, too critical, or too context-specific if it advances thoughtful and respectful dialogue.
Guiding Reflections for Members
If helpful, members might consider:
What global health issue feels urgently under-discussed or misunderstood?
Where do gaps exist between policy intentions and lived realities?
What challenges do young professionals face when attempting to influence decision-making?
How can we better bridge local knowledge and global frameworks?
What do equity and inclusion look like when applied to real systems and power structures?
Ideas can draw from professional work, academic study, community experience, or unresolved questions.
Our Shared Stewardship
CGHI is not a platform delivered to its members. It is a platform built with its members.
Contributing ideas to the Community Calls strengthens our collective intelligence, reinforces shared ownership, and helps ensure that CGHI remains accountable to its mission.
This is part of our shared stewardship of the community we are building together.
A Call to Action
The future of global health will be shaped by those willing to think critically, listen across difference, and lead with humility and purpose. Our Community Calls are a unique space where that future is already being imagined, debated, and shaped.
Join us. Bring your ideas, expertise, and insights. Email hi@coalitionghi.org to get involved.
Together, we can co-create the conversations, strategies, and solutions that will define the next generation of global health leadership.
This blog was written by Charli Sitong Zhang.
Charli is the President and Co-Founder of CGHI, where she provides strategic leadership across the organization’s global programs, partnerships, and advocacy work. She leads a multinational team across 6 continents advancing health equity through youth-driven innovation, policy engagement, and community-centered solutions. She holds an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cape Town and a BA from Maastricht University.
