Global health challenges - from research into policy

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Place: OsloMet, Pilestredet 46, Oslo centrum

Date: 24th Nov, 10:00 – 16:30

Program

The global society must respond to several global health challenges simultaneously and the process of prioritization is complex. We have to fight both communicable and non-communicable diseases to ensure the health of both children and ageing populations.

We need to reduce the prevalence of premature mortality through better preventive interventions and access to effective treatment. We need to ensure equity to secure our children a safe future and to reach the goal of equal opportunities for long and healthy lives.

Infectious diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis, respiratory and diarrheal diseases, are influencing many lives and access to care and vaccines are unequally distributed. At the same time, non-communicable diseases, including diabetes and mental health problems are comprise more than 70% of all global deaths.

Furthermore, the relationship between the exploitation of natural resources and our health, is a major challenge. Health is closely linked to natural resources and affected by climate change through access to water and food access, increasing temperatures, and natural disasters.

We need to understand these challenges and find solutions. However, the generation of new knowledge through science is not enough by itself, we also must ensure that science is translated into action.

This conference is a follow up of our previous PhD-conference by more discussion around research into policy.

Mariam Claeson is the senior project manager for the Political Economy of Adolescent Mental Health project at the Department of Global Public Health at Karolinska Institutet (KI). After many years working abroad she is back in Sweden where her journey started as a medical student. She discusses progress in child health globally, especially reduction in child mortality but is concerned about the major setbacks caused by the pandemic. Her focus now is on how to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents.
Mariam Cleason is former Director of the Global Financing Facility (GFF) for Every Woman Every Child at the World Bank (2016-2019). She has also worked as physician in clinical practice at the rural district level (Tanzania, Bangladesh, and Bhutan) and in national immunization and diarrheal disease control (Ethiopia).

Title of her talk: The political economy of global public health

Håkon Bolkan, NTNU, his research is about scalable solutions to increase access to surgical services in low-income countries. In 2010, he established CapaCare, an organization offering medical training in areas lacking this competence. CapaCare has been active in Sierra Leone since 2010 and has extensive cooperation with NTNU, which in turn cooperates with other academic centers in Europe. They implement and test new ways of conducting surgical training and surgical service delivery in areas with little resources, they evaluate the effect and safety of task-sharing in surgery and obstetrics. They have also examined how and if surgical procedures can be an indicator of a health system during major disasters, such as the West African Ebola outbreak in 2014-16.

Title of his talk: From research to policy - case study from introduction of a new surgical cadre in Sierra Leone.

Ragnhild Dybdahl, NIPH, works as a project manager for the new program -"Building stronger public health institutions and systems " (BIS). The aim is to build competent and resilient health systems underpinned by strong public health institutions in 6 countries and through global and regional work. She is also an ass.prof at UiB. Ragnhild has worked for both policy making organisations and has been deeply involved in research and education in mental global health. She is trained in psychology and has worked with trauma and migration. 

Title of her talk: Using knowledge for health policy in low- and middle-income countries. Challenges and opportunities

Renzo Guinto, is the Chief Planetary Health Scientist & Co-Founder of the newly established Sunway Centre for Planetary Health in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is a Filipino physician with broad interests in global health and sustainable development. He was one of the first to start talking about decolonizing global health. Important questions on his agenda are: How can we tackle the many power asymmetries that you know shape and that characterize our field, our sector, global health science, global health policy?

Title of his talk: How can we decolonize?

(Renzo will join the conference digitally)

You are invited to submit your abstract to be evaluated for Oral or Poster presentation.

Categories for scientific topics:

• Mother and child health
• Health care systems, Universal health coverage (UHC)
• Non-communicable diseases, including global mental health
• Climate and environmental health
• Communicable diseases

Abstract submission is closed

Registration Deadline 1st Oct

If you would like to attend the conference and are not a PhD, please use this registration form:

Registration for non-PhD's Deadline 11th Nov 

Travel expenses

NRSGH travel grant cover travelling expenses and are limited to 3000 NOK for the roundtrip, including public transportation to/from the airport. Please note that private transportation is not included. Travel grant will be reimbursed after the conference. See more information.

Grant - travel from abroad

If you are staying abroad and want to join the NRSGH conference, you need to apply for an International Training Grant. This grant has a limited amount pr grant pr student: 15 000 Nok. This is for travel to/from Norway and short stay before/after the Conference. The conference is paid by NRSGH and free for all members. Please, contact NRSGH coordinator elin.y.dvergsdal@ntnu.no if you have any questions. Remember to stay updated by the Norwegian Governments traveling advice coming to Norway. 

Practical information:

You have to book your travel to Oslo yourself.

There will be a conference dinner at MeiWei AS, Tullinsgate 6, 24th Nov at 19:00 in Oslo 

All the NRSGH PhD-participants will be booked into Scandic St. Olavs Plass. See the registration form.

Other Global Health Conference, 25th November:

NRSGH members are recommended to join. Title of this conference is Climate change and global health – emphasize on working conditions and life conditions
Please read more about the conference on their webpage

The organising committee for NRSGH Conference:

Professor Thorkild Tylleskär, UiB
Researcher Ane-Marthe Solheim Skar, NIPH
Ass. prof Ingvild Hersoug Nedberg, UiT

Adm adviser Daniel Gundersen, UiB
Coordinator Elin Yli Dvergsdal NTNU

Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding the conference.