GPHW2024: Addressing Public Health Challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean WHO Region a youth perspective Capacities for Infodemic Management

Theme: Rethinking Public Health Paradigms

Date and Time: 8th April 2024 | 10:00-11:00 (GMT+1)

Event Description: The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), encompassing 22 countries and territories in West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and Central Asia, confronts a diverse array of public health challenges. This includes communicable and non-communicable diseases, environmental health concerns, healthcare infrastructure fortification, and emergency response preparedness. To highlight these multifaceted challenges, our panel event endeavors to cultivate a platform for the exchange of insights and collaboration among experts and stakeholders within youth from health organizations, in the EMR.

Content of the panel discussion:

1. Identification of Key Public Health Challenges: Through collaborative discourse, the panel seeks to pinpoint the most pressing public health issues prevalent in the EMR, considering the unique socio-economic and geopolitical factors at play.

2. Sharing of Insights and Best Practices: Participants will share their experiences and successful strategies in addressing public health challenges within the EMR, fostering a dynamic environment for cross-learning and knowledge dissemination.

3. Exploration of Innovative Solutions: Delving into the realm of innovation, the panel will explore novel approaches and solutions aimed at bolstering public health outcomes in the EMR, leveraging technological advancements, interdisciplinary collaborations, and community engagement.

4. Discussion of Collaborative Opportunities: Recognizing the significance of collective action, the panel will facilitate discussions on potential avenues for collaborative efforts and partnerships, with a focus on strengthening public health systems, promoting health equity, and building resilience against future health crises.

Outcome: The panel, composed of youth health actors from the EMR, hopes that the wealth of expertise and diverse perspectives shared during the event will not only enrich collective understanding but also contribute to the development of tangible ideas for advancing public health concerns in the EMR.

Event Type: Panel discussion & round table

Event Format: Online

Language(s): English

Organiser(s): Organizers from Young WFPHA: David Peyre-Costa, Duha Shellah, Lwando Maki, Alessandro Berionni

How to Attend Virtually: Zoom Link 

Registration: N/A

Shaping the Future of Public Health Sustainable Investments

On January 23, 2024, the WFPHA Immunization Taskforce hosted an insightful conversation on Shaping the Future of Public Health Sustainable Investments.

This webinar is part of the Immunization Taskforce activities led by the World Federation of Public Health Associations.

Anuradha Gupta, President of Global Immunization at the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Hugo Marín Piva, Head of the Pharmaco-economy Area at the Pharmacoepidemiology Department at Costa Rican Social Security Fund explored real-world cases, emphasizing the critical need for strategic and impactful investments in the realm of global health.

Allocating Sustainable Funding for Resilient Health Systems: A Distant Dream?

The lack of alignment between the economic and healthcare worlds results in an inadequate strategy for sustainable healthcare investments. Numerous decisions affecting health outcomes are made outside the health sector and health budgets, encompassing areas such as transportation, land use planning, and the environment.

On September 18, 2023, at 10:00 (CEST), esteemed speakers from various sectors and regions participated in a comprehensive dialogue, delving into the topic, showcasing real-life examples, and exchanging best practices concerning the effective distribution of budgets across different sectors. The aim is to inspire policymakers and public health professionals globally.

This webinar is available to view by clicking on the link below.

Protecting Health Workforce: Recommendations to Develop & Implement Dedicated Vaccination Programs in LIC & LMIC

Protecting health workers through appropriate vaccination is critical to protect them and our communities, and also, to avoid overburdening the health system.

Vaccine delivery relies on existing immunization infrastructure. However, worldwide nearly 40% of countries lack adult immunization infrastructure, and nearly 60% of the world’s population lives in countries without routine adult immunization programs. This is also true for health workers.

COVID-19 vaccines are administered in many Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LICs and LMICs) that lack infrastructure for routine adult immunization. This also means lack of mobilization and awareness, poor capacity for vaccine storage, handling, delivery and waste management for this category. To administer COVID-19 vaccines to adult populations, the necessary infrastructure and related activities are being developed. We should take advantage of this momentum to support sustainable development of infrastructure and measures to ensure vaccination across the lifespan, going beyond the COVID-19 vaccine, starting with the healthcare workforce.

On February 28, 2023, at 09:30 (CET), key recommendations on how to develop, implement, and strengthen the vaccination program for health workers in LICs and LMICs will be presented and discussed by experts from different countries.

Participation is free, but registration is mandatory. Save your spot by clicking on the link below.

Protecting Health Workforce through Vaccination in LICs and LMICs

Successful national immunization programs depend on up-to-date policies and effective strategies at all levels to achieve and maintain coverage targets, as well as to develop understanding and trust in vaccination as one of the core public health preventive measures. Countries need strong mechanisms that enable evidence-based, informed decision-making about immunization priorities, the introduction of new program strategies and vaccines, technologies and the development of effective communication and messaging.

Today with the COVID-19 pandemic this is more evident than ever. Effective advocacy from an informed community to policymakers is of utmost importance to guarantee the development of much-needed policies and their implementation.

Protecting people worldwide with the appropriate vaccinations is a priority to save millions of lives. This is even more true for the healthcare and public health workforce, very often at the front line in caring for patients and communities. While many countries, including those in less wealthy settings, often have infrastructures and policies to guarantee vaccinations for children, this is not always the case for adults and health workers. Indeed, in many countries, a lack of infrastructures or appropriate policies undermine the access to vaccination throughout the life span. This means that high risks categories like health workers are not protected creating a huge problem not only for the individual but for the whole society.

The WFPHA, through its International Immunization Policy Taskforce, is working hard to protect health workers through vaccination in low-income countries (LICs) and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs).

GPHW2024: Keeping it Reel: Disseminating Public Health Information in the Current Social Media Era

Theme: Rethinking Public Health Paradigms

Date and Time: 8th April 2024 | 14:00 – 15:00 (GMT)

Event Description: Over the past two decades, social media platforms have significantly changed how people consume information. In the past, a small number of professional bodies, organizations, and charities used to provide health advice through specified channels. However, this model no longer aligns with the methods and formats in which the general public, particularly the younger generation (Millennials to Gen Alpha), now interacts with and receives news. This communication gap has resulted in the spread of misguided, incorrect, and harmful health information, as evidenced during the global COVID-19 infodemic. Such misinformation has the potential to have real-world consequences for the public.

“Keeping it Reel: Disseminating Public Health Information in the Current Social Media Era” is an event organised by the Young World Federation of Public Health Associations (Young WPHA) for the 2024 Global Public Health Week. It aims to create a forum in which stakeholders can discuss the challenges and opportunities created by social media in the field of health communication. Young WFPHA wishes to explore the ever-changing landscape of social media, identify the skills public health professionals require to navigate this, and discuss how social media has affected the younger generation’s consumption and understanding of health information. This event would also like to offer solutions, collaboration opportunities, and grounds for hope in tackling this global challenge.

We will begin the event with an introduction to the topic and the speakers, who include social media influencers, public health communication experts, and representatives from social media platforms. This introduction will be followed by a panel discussion on the topic, concluding with a Q&A session. In the second part of the event, the Young WFPHA communication team will give a presentation on the launch of their new public health social media channel, which is aimed at addressing some of the issues discussed earlier.

Instagram Page

Event Type:Webinar format with Q&A chat

Event Format: online

Language(s): English

Organiser(s): Young WFPHA Working Group

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

Registration: Link