In Solidarity with Afghanistan

Afghanistan is suffering a double burden of disease because communicable diseases are widely prevalent throughout the country and non-communicable diseases are also on the rise. Considering the recent changes in Afghanistan and the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) is extremely concerned by the rising level of violence and risk over the last several years.

We urge the Afghan Government, the international community, and all world leaders to act collectively and decisively to enhance investment in the health sector and implement a coordinated action plan to improve the health of the people and to protect their lives and rights.

Statement about the Current Situation in Tigray, Ethiopia

The World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) notes with concern the reports that around 5 million people need humanitarian assistance, and more than two million people were forced to flee their homes in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.1

The WFPHA supports the United Nations’ call for an immediate end to hostilities, guaranteed, unrestricted humanitarian access, the re-establishment of public health services in all affected areas, and the creation of conditions that allow an Ethiopian-led dialogue to find a solution to the political crisis.2

Healthy Climate Prescription: An Urgent Call for Climate Action from the Health Community ahead of COP26

The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in November 2021 is a critical moment to raise our voices to protect people worldwide from catastrophic climate change. The health community is coming together to send #HealthyClimate Prescription letter to national leaders, country delegations, and decision makers, calling for real actions to address the climate crisis.

The WFPHA has signed the letter to advocate for climate action now in order to protect the planet, and the health, wellbeing and prosperity of all people alive today and for generations to come.

EU Commission’s Response to Co-signed Open Letter on Access to COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapies

“The Commission is committed to the objective of universal equitable access to vaccines and treatments against COVID-19.”

The European Commission has responded the co-signed open letter on access to COVID-19 vaccines and therapies.

The open letter was sent by a broad coalition of civil society organisations across Europe urgently calling on governments and EU institutions to implement a COVID-19 response based on global solidarity and to act to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines and medical products are available to everyone, everywhere in the world by waiving Intellectual Property Rights and sharing know-how and technology widely.

WFPHA Working Groups: Welcoming New Chairs/Co-chairs and Thanking Outgoing Chairs

At WFPHA, our mission is to protect people, prevent diseases, and promote health and wellbeing. Our 10 diverse Working Groups help us achieve our mission through advocacy, collaborative work, and support. We are constantly overwhelmed by the efforts they put forth to uphold our mission and reach our universal goals.

Recently, we have had to say goodbye to two of our valued working group chairs, Prof. Raman Bedi (Oral Health) and Dr. Florian Stigler (Tobacco Control) as they take on their next venture. They have served us exceptionally well over the years, and we would like to thank them for their contributions within the WFPHA. They committed their time supporting WFPHA working groups and provided assisting through collective work and implementation. We appreciate their efforts and wish them a fruitful journey ahead.

As we say goodbye to some of our previous working group chairs, we also would like to give a warm welcome to those who have just joined: Hannah Marcus (Environmental Health), John Gannon (Tobacco Control), Leanne Coombe (Public Health Professionals’ Education and Training), and Timothy Mackey (Global Health Equity and Digital Technology).

We are excited to see the difference our new working group chairs/co-chairs will contribute to in global health. We hope this experience brings jubilation and achievement to both them and us!

Ensuring a Trained Public Health Workforce

Globally, public health training mainly occurs through Master of Public Health (MPH) programmes, although undergraduate and doctoral programmes exist. Although difficult to measure, globally public health teaching programmes appear to be increasing in number. Accreditation of public health programmes is however inconsistent. There are several locally developed public health competency sets, designed to guide the content of public health education programmes and practice guidelines. Developing such competencies as well as how to tackle hyper-specialised, fragmented and ‘silo’ learning models to influence complex webs of policy and governance, can be done through building interprofessionality and interdisciplinarity.