Integrating environmental sustainability into the teaching of global health ethics from a students' perspective: new guiding questions.

Abstract

Environmental sustainability stands out as a crucial topic in global health. Although this concept has been part of ethical discussions for over two decades, progress toward its adoption within global health ethics education remains slow and hesitant, hindering its integration into global health practice and decision-making processes. As recent global health graduates, we believe that global health relies on the interconnectedness of human and environmental health. Therefore, we sought to address a gap in our ethics formation by proposing the inclusion of an environmental sustainability perspective in global health ethics teaching through a revised question checklist and classroom activity. This question checklist expands on the seven teaching principles for public health ethics by Schröder-Bäck et al. applying an environmental ethics lens to global health ethics. The group activity offers a structured method for students to explore practical applications of environmental sustainability in global health processes. We aim to foster more critical reflections and discussions on this topic among future global health professionals and students, paving the way for a more environmentally sustainable future in global health.