The state of global health equity is abhorrent. I grew up as a part of Generation Z through financial crises, a global climate crisis, and now through multiple genocides in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Palestine. When I started out as a freshman at UC San Diego, I was taught in my lower division global health class about the definition of health equity: “the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health.” (CDC). Throughout the past four years and even just this year being a part of the UC Global Health Institute Ambassador Program, I have been witnessing and living through several atrocities spanning from racist police brutality in overpoliced and resource-denied Black and Brown communities, misogyny within healthcare practice, the erasure of the Asian Pacific Islander Middle Eastern Desi American (APIMEDA) experience when it comes to access and representation in education and healthcare resources. When assessing my own community within San Diego and at UC San Diego, I have witnessed the increasing unhoused and housing insecure community of older adults, students and Queer, Trans, Black Indigenous People of Color (QTBIPOC) youth. The state of global health equity seems to be overwhelmed with bleakness. This is not an opinion, this is the truth of the matter. We are witnessing a lack of equity, community, and care.

The various conceptual solutions that I have found in my own field experience, learning from elders, as well as listening to my fellow Black, Indigenous, People of Color comrades is that we must begin to integrate a paradigm shift of not just how we approach healthcare but how we think about life; how we approach our positionalities as multifaceted, intersectional beings. Global health equity is taking into account the social determinants of health as well as working towards critically examining and reassessing the current systems and operations we have in place (capitalism, imperialism, patriarchy, and white supremacy). We must shift towards a more people-centered, community-oriented approach to healthcare. We must understand that every single social justice issues and global health equity issue is intrinsically interconnected and to treat healthcare as such.

The tangible solution I have found through my own research is mutual aid. Mutual aid is the lateral exchange of resources between community members. Mutual aid embodies the intentional use of community knowledge and resources to effectively address disparities within the community, for and by the community. These resources can look like monetary funds, clothing, food, hygiene products, educational materials, zines, art, and relationship building. In my research, I have planned, organized and successfully implemented mutual aid through pop-up events around my hometown of New York City as well as in San Diego. My intentionality is to serve the unhoused and housing insecure community, however these mutual aid pop-up events teach us about the importance of community organizing and the shift towards a more collective mindset when it comes to community care and serving the needs of those most impacted by systems of oppression.