The University of California, San Francisco Global Health Sciences' (GHS) The Forum, is a new initiative to explore global health issues and aligns with GHS' mission to help eliminate major health disparities and improve the health of the most vulnerable populations around the world. The GHS Forum is a year-long exploration of a single theme compelling the breadth and significance of the questions it raises, and leading to a final product that, when implemented, will significantly improve the human condition. Through ongoing collaborations across local, national and international investigators, practitioners, community leaders, and policy makers, The Forum will stimulate debate, synthesize available knowledge, develop research agendas, and build advocacy pathways that address the year's selected theme.