Under the endowed professorship, 52-year-old physician and health scientist Dr. Schultz will be principally addressing the most urgent pediatric issues affecting children around the world from an overall societal standpoint, as he explains: “We need to point out how children’s health issues should not be viewed in isolation—especially in disadvantaged countries. Rather, social determinants and environmental and educational factors must in all cases be taken into account as integral considerations in pediatric research and treatment.” Dr. Schultz’ research has concentrated on clinical health services, affordable pediatric diagnostics and improving training for the medical professions.
International development cooperation
Dr. Schultz gained initial experience with emergency medical aid and development partnerships in the mid-1990s in India, and as an interning physician in Papua New Guinea. A father of three, Dr. Schultz returned to Germany with his family in 2021 after a good twenty years of working in development cooperation, including nearly ten years overseas, in the capacities of doctor, project manager, program director and consultant. Here at University Hospital Bonn he contributed to the formation of the new Global Health section at the Institute for Hygiene and Public Health (IHPH) as a member of an interdisciplinary team.
A partnership of equals
The global child mortality rate has fallen over the last three decades, and yet approximately five million children under the age of five perish every year due to unavailable health services—often from preventable or treatable conditions. “This focused partnership with one university partner in Malawi will enable us to much more effectively leverage our individual perspectives and ideas on advancing global child health up to the most modern standards. Pediatric medicine research is best done in the field where the challenges are most acute, which unfortunately tends to mean regions where avoidable child death is seen. Preventing this is our goal," said Dr. Schultz, explaining the main purpose of the Endowed Professorship for Global Child Health. This is a “tandem professorship” with Dr. Ajib Phiri, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and former Vice Dean at the University of Malawi Faculty of Medicine (KUHeS). Dr. Phiri notes: “Under our longstanding successful partnership we have introduced training programs, treatment guidelines and networks of key contacts within the last few years.”
Unprecedented tandem professorship for child health
The basic idea behind the Foundation's creating of this tandem professorship is in many respects innovative, as Professor Bernd Weber, Dean of the University of Bonn Faculty of Medicine discusses: “While inherently promoting partnership, the choice of Dr. Schultz at University Hospital Bonn for the position clearly demonstrates how implementation research and clinical application at university hospitals are chief priorities. Furthermore, the endowment of such a professorship at a German state university for the first time is indicative of the relevance of the underlying issues.”
Photo: Global Child Health - child receiving ultrasound scanning. Source: Dr. Andreas Schultz
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Andreas Schultz
E-Mail: andreas.schultz@ukbonn.de