GPHW2024: Overcoming Intellectual Property Barriers to Equitable Medicines Access for Pandemics

Theme: Enhancing and Democratizing Governance in Global Health

Date and Time: 9 April 2024 | 19:00-20:00 AEST

Event Description: The World Health Organization said that the world’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic represented a “catastrophic failure of the international community in showing solidarity and equity.” Why did we see such a failure in global cooperation, and what needs to be done to prevent the same mistakes from happening again?

COVID-19 has demonstrated the limitations of the global governance system and the intellectual property regime that shaped the global response to the pandemic. Pharmaceutical companies, supported by high-income countries seeking to be first in the vaccine queue, fought to protect intellectual property rules. This prevented greater production of vaccines, treatments, and diagnostic tests, leading to millions of preventable deaths, particularly in the Global South.

Now, negotiations for a Pandemic Agreement and an extension of a temporary waiver of intellectual property rules are underway. But progress has been slow and there has been growing uncertainty about whether countries will reach a consensus.

Join us for a discussion with Yuan Qiong Hu (Senior Legal & Policy Advisor at Médecins Sans Frontières and intellectual property) co-hosted by the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) and the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Trade Network (AFTINET). The discussion will be led by Associate Professor Deborah Gleeson (Department of Public Health, La Trobe University) with concluding remarks from Dr Patricia Ranald (AFTINET Convenor and Honorary Research Associate at the University of Sydney).

Event Type: Seminar / Webinar

Event Format: online

Language(s): English

Organiser(s): Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA)

How to Attend Virtually: Zoom link (will be sent after registration)

Registration: Link

GPHW2024: A healthy mouth leads to a healthy body. What additional evidence is needed to support the inclusion of ‘essential oral healthcare’ in Medicare?

Theme: Rethinking Public Health Paradigms

Date and Time: 8th April 2024 | 17:00-18:00 (AEST)

Event Description: The 40th anniversary year of Australia’s Medicare public health insurance system provides a critical opportunity for advancing important health reform discussions, especially with the federal election due in 2025. The 2023 Senate Select Committee on Access and Provision of Dental Services in Australia provided important insight into future directions, but there is yet to be any firm commitments by the Australian government on universal access to essential oral healthcare.

As part of #GPHW2024, this webinar will investigate options for including oral healthcare in Medicare and will provide a platform for consumers, under-served communities, and public health experts to share knowledge and explore the ways forward. The webinar will be solutions-focused, including looking at what is working well (or not working well), both globally and locally. Challenges and perspectives will be explored from other jurisdictions about the research and policy agenda to support universal health coverage that includes oral health.

Event Type: Public Health Campaign

Event Format: Online

Language(s): English

Organiser(s): Deakin University

How to Attend Virtually: Zoom Link (will be sent after registration)

Registration: Link

GPHW2024: Urbanization and Public Health: Challenges of middle and low income countries

Theme: Rethinking Public Health Paradigms

Date and Time: 8th April 2024 | 11:00-12:30 CET

Event Description: The Public Health Foundation, Bangladesh (PHFBD) is an independent, autonomous, non-political, and non-profitable organization led by a group of well-reputed, committed, and dedicated multidisciplinary professionals, including physicians, nurses, health academicians, health researchers, public health specialists, and allied health professionals from home and abroad. It aims to make a positive change towards establishing a fairer, inclusive, more equitable, and healthier society by addressing emerging public health challenges through evidence-based actions, research, mobilizing required resources, and delivering people-centered health services. The world is now predominantly urban; rapid and uncontrolled urbanization continues across low-income and middle-income countries. Health systems are struggling to respond to the challenges that urbanization brings. While better-off urbanites can reap the benefits from the ‘urban advantage’, the poorest, particularly slum dwellers and the homeless, frequently experience worse health outcomes than their rural counterparts. Key challenges include: responding to the rising tide of non-communicable diseases and the wider determinants of health, strengthening urban health governance to enable multi-sectoral responses, and provision of accessible, quality primary health care and prevention from a plurality of providers.

This webinar, organized by PHFBD focuses on enhancing understanding of the challenges of rapid urbanization among participants, discussing probable solutions, and disseminating of knowledge related to the issue to a wider audience.

The event is designed for Health professionals, academia, researchers, students, Policy makers, Public health leaders, and anyone interested in global health issues. It will attract participants from various industries, creating a dynamic and diverse environment for learning and collaboration. 

Presenters:

Prof. Hasnat M Alamgir, Director of Professional Development, Southeast University Dhaka, Bangladesh

Prof. Bettina Borisch, CEO WFPHA Geneva, Switzerland

Other speakers:

Prof. M Muzaherul Huq, Member, National Executive Committee at Bangladesh Society for Enforcement of Human Rights (BSEHR) Dhaka, Bangladesh

Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman at PPRC (Power and Participation Research Centre) Dhaka, Bangladesh                                                   

Dr. Aftab Uddin, Chairperson, Public Health Foundation, Bangladesh (PHFBD) Dhaka, Bangladesh

Dr. Shegufta Mohammad, International Coordinator Public Health Foundation, Bangladesh (PHFBD), Geneva, Switzerland (Moderator)

Follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Youtube, PHFBD Website

Event Type: Seminar / Webinar

Event Format: online

Language(s): English

Organiser(s): Public Health Foundation, Bangladesh 

How to Attend Virtually: Facebook Live

Registration: Link

GPHW2024: CAPHIA Infodemic Management Masterclass

Theme:Promoting a Sustainable Life for Thriving Communities

Date and Time: 11th April 2024 | 15:30-17:00 (AEST)

Event Description: The infodemic has been defined by WHO as ‘the overwhelming amount of information, accurate and otherwise that accompanies an acute health event’. The infodemic can make it difficult for people to find accurate health information from reliable sources to make informed decisions about their health. While the infodemic concerns health information seeking, access, and use during health emergencies such as COVID-19, this challenge is the outgrowth of the modern information ecosystem that increasingly impacts other health programs and the health system, as well as society at large.

The information environment is the cumulation of individual, community, organizational, and systems approaches to health information production, exchange, translation, and use. People express themselves, share information, and signal their questions, concerns, and trust in health information through a range of online and offline interactions, that are influenced by a range of factors.

When overlaid with public health, the information ecosystem dynamics challenge how people search for, access, interact with, feel about, and act on health information, therefore contributing to health behaviors. Building resilience to health misinformation and skills to navigate the information environment to find accurate and credible health information is important but complex. Similar to other health issues, factors such as the social and commercial determinants of health, supportive environments, trust in government, health system, health services and each other, interpersonal and intergenerational health information seeking and use, and personal skills all impact an individual’s ability to search for, access, process and act on health information.

This session will introduce the key concepts of a healthy information environment, how it challenges the health system in routine and through infodemics in health emergencies, and describe the lessons learned in the field of infodemiology during the pandemic. The speakers will encourage active participation to share experiences. The presenters bring global and national experience and look forward to the conversation.

Event Link

Event Type: Seminar / Webinar

Event Format: online

Language(s): English

Organiser(s): CAPHIA · Council of Academic Public Health Institutions Australasia

How to Attend Virtually: Zoom Link (will be sent after registration)

Registration: Link

GPHW2024: Work Readiness of Public Health Graduates – Challenge Room

Theme: Fostering the Development of the Right Competencies within Tomorrow’s Health Workforce

Date and Time: 12 April 2024 | 9:00-11:00 am GMT +11

Event Description: The pipeline from students to graduates to professionals is vital across all industries. To make sure the workforce remains strong, full of fresh ideas, and able to meet the challenges in front of it. Work readiness is important in every profession. So, why do we struggle to employ fresh public health graduates?

Why is there a preference in the industry to open roles up to other people with transferable skills rather than individuals who have studied prevention and the determinants of health?

How can you, as a public health professional, help to resolve this issue? This will be an interactive session. It will start with the challenge being broken down, and some potential options offered. However, the remainder of the session will be dedicated to attendees discussing this challenge we have in our industry together.

Event Type: Online challenges

Event Format: online

Language(s): English

Organiser(s): La Trobe University

How to Attend Virtually: Zoom link (will be sent after registration)

Registration: Link