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Roopa Dhatt

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Roopa Dhatt
Born
India
Education
Known for
Medical career
ProfessionPhysician
InstitutionsGeorgetown University Medical Center
Sub-specialtiesInternal medicine

Roopa Dhatt is an Indian American physician, an Assistant Professor and Internal Medicine Hospitalist at Georgetown University Medical Center, and at a community hospital, Washington, DC. In 2015 she co-founded Women in Global Health, which aims to reduce gender disparity among global health leaders, and subsequently became the organisation's Executive Director.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she highlighted the gender aspects of COVID-19, including that a disproportionate number of frontline workers are women, yet not part of leadership roles. She was part of a team that evaluated the language used by men and women leaders during the pandemic. On International Women's Day 2021, along with World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom, she signed a memorandum of understanding on the position of women in global health.

Early life and education

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Cleveland, home of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Roopa Dhatt was born in the 1980s in India, and emigrated to the United States at the age of five.[1][2] She later recalled her exposure to health inequities during a visit to India in the early 1990s when she was nine years old, leading her to pursue a career in medicine.[2]

She earned a bachelor's degree in cell biology and African-American and African studies from the University of California, Davis, and a master's degree in public affairs from the Paris Institute of Political Studies.[3] She received her M.D. from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia.[2][3] In 2012, as a medical student, she became president of the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations.[1]

Career

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Prior to becoming a physician in Internal medicine at Georgetown University Medical Centerin Washington, DC, Dhatt trained in internal medicine and international health at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland.[2][4]

Women in Global Health

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In 2015 she co-founded an organisation which aims to reduce gender disparity among global health leaders, the Women in Global Health,[5][6] of which she is the Executive Director.[7] She is one of the Women Leaders in the Global Health Conferences.[3][8]

Investigation and termination from the organisation

Dhatt was terminated from the organisation in May 2024 following an investigation which revealed a toxic and retaliatory work environment and unearthed accusations of racial discrimination, as well as resistance to change on the part of Dhatt. The toxic environment under Dhatt's leadership was described by terms such as "white supremacy", "power hoarding" and "a sink-or-swim mentality." In one case, a mother of a newborn was denied a request to work part time for a month, even after she was overwhelmed in her duties and had to face the effects of a disaster in her own country. [9]

COVID-19 pandemic

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In September 2020, representing Women in Global Health at a Women in Global Health Security Summit, Dhatt highlighted that a disproportionate number of frontline workers are women, many providing informal unpaid care.[10] This disparity she says, contributes "to international female healthcare workers' widespread underpayment, under-recognition, and unequal exposure to contagion."[10] She then presented Women in Global Health's five requests pertaining to women:[10]

  • To be included in decision-making
  • Safe and decent working conditions
  • To be recognised for their work
  • "Gender-sensitive" data analysis process and response
  • Funds to be directed to important gender problems

In the same year, she was part of a team that evaluated the language used by men and women leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings were published in BMJ Global Health in a paper titled "Political and gender analysis of speeches made by heads of government during the COVID-19 pandemic."[11]

On 8 March 2021, Dhatt signed a memorandum of understanding with WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom with the aim "to further the shared goals and objectives of women's economic empowerment, gender transformative change in Universal Health Coverage and the health workforce on a global level".[12]

On 1 July 2021, Dhatt attended the Generation Equality Forum in Paris, meeting with global leaders, including Melinda Gates, President Macron and Secretary Hillary Clinton. With partners the Government of France and the World Health Organization (WHO), Women in Global Health launched commitments for the Gender Equal Health and Care Workforce Initiative.

Selected publications

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  • Dhatt, Roopa; Keeling, Ann (2020). "Women expertise has been excluded from the COVID-19 response" (PDF). Essays on Equality. The Global Institute for Women's Leadership, King's College: 6–9.
  • Bali, Sulzhan; Dhatt, Roopa; Lal, Arush; Jama, Amina; Daalen, Kim Van; Sridhar, Devi (1 May 2020). "Off the back burner: diverse and gender-inclusive decision-making for COVID-19 response and recovery". BMJ Global Health. 5 (5): e002595. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002595. ISSN 2059-7908. PMC 7228484. PMID 32385047.
  • Dada, Sara; Ashworth, Henry Charles; Bewa, Marlene Joannie; Dhatt, Roopa (1 January 2021). "Words matter: political and gender analysis of speeches made by heads of government during the COVID-19 pandemic". BMJ Global Health. 6 (1): e003910. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003910. ISSN 2059-7908. PMC 7849321. PMID 33514593.

References

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  1. ^ a b Andrews, Lara (21 September 2020). "Dr Roopa Dhatt, Women in Global Health - Contain This: The Latest in Global Health Security". Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Prasad, Aarathi (7 November 2020). "Roopa Dhatt: advancing gender equality in global health leadership". The Lancet. 396 (10261): 1480. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32285-6. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 33160558. S2CID 226257536.
  3. ^ a b c "A Conversation with Women Leaders in Global Health". unfoundation.org. 17 November 2016.
  4. ^ "IFMSA President's Opening Speech on IFMSA Reform". IFMSA. 16 August 2013. Archived from the original on 18 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Dr. Roopa Dhatt". womeningh. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Roopa Dhatt | Think Global Health". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Roopa Dhatt". www.unanca.org. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Speaker Roopa Dhatt - Women Leaders in Global Health Conference". Women Leaders in Global Health. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  9. ^ Jerving, Sara; July 2024, Rumbi Chakamba // 30 (30 July 2024). "Exclusive: Probe finds Women in Global Health had 'toxic' environment". Devex. Retrieved 8 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ a b c Griffiths, Adam. "Women in Global Health Security High-Level Digital Summit Synthesis Report". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  11. ^ Sandoiu, Ana (23 December 2020). "COVID-19: How discourse differs between male and female politicians". www.medicalnewstoday.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  12. ^ "WHO signs MoU with Women in Global Health on International Women's Day". www.who.int. Archived from the original on 13 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
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