Key takeaways from the first annual Global Health Conference in Vancouver

On Thursday, January 24th, students and global health advocates came together for a sold-out event – the first annual Global Health Conference hosted by the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia and the Centre for International and Child Health (CICH) at BC Children’s Hospital. The event showcased the amazing talent and knowledge coming out of UBC and British Columbia. CanWaCH staff members, Fallyn Thompson and Alli Bunting, attended the event, and had this to share:

Partnerships and collaboration are the way forward

Dr. Tex Kisoon, Vice-President, Medical Affairs at British Columbia (BC) Children’s Hospital and Professor and Vice Chair of the Global Alliance for Sepsis spoke about the need to genuinely partner with people and organizations around the world in a way that demonstrates cross-cultural competency, stating “if you are poor, it doesn’t mean you are bereft of ideas and if you are rich, it doesn’t mean that you have a franchise of knowledge.”

People across Canada are mobilizing for global health and gender equality

There was a lot of buzz about the Women Deliver 2019 Mobilization Canada in the room as Canadians from coast to coast to coast are mobilizing in the name of gender equality and global health. As the host city of the Women Deliver 2019 conference, Vancouverites are particularly excited!

Thoughtful insights on program sustainability 

Thoughtful insights on program sustainability were made by Richard Lester (Lead mHealth Research Group and Director of WelTel and Neglected Global Diseases Initiative). Recognizing the dichotomy between localized solutions producing sustainability and the inherent barriers local approaches present for licensing and availability of products is vital. There’s more in common around the world than differences and it’s important not to be restricted by a localized focus. There can be equal merit to both local and global approaches.  

Our own Alli Bunting spoke on the closing panel on “Implementing Innovation in Global Health”. Alli discussed the barriers of existing funding models that NGOs work within and how they don’t always allow for partnerships with academia. Here at CanWaCH, We are aiming to overcome that challenge with our Canadian Collaborative for Global Health. It was a pleasure to participate in the first annual Global Health Conference and we look forward to what this event will bring in the future! 

Published:

January 30, 2019


Author:

CanWaCH


Categories:


SHARE THIS POST:


Icon