Professor Jennifer Prah, the Amartya Sen Professor of Health Equity at the University of Pennsylvania, will deliver the public lecture on 15 November.
Aotearoa’s international contributions to global health will be the focus of this year’s Otago Global Health Institute conference, which is being held in Dunedin on 14 and 15 November.
The conference’s official theme is Aotearoa New Zealand’s contribution to Global Health – Global citizen versus good neighbour.
The theme was chosen based on a perspective piece led by Professor John Crump, from the University of Otago’s Centre for International Health. The article found New Zealand’s approach to the COVID-19 problematic as it did not necessarily promote a common global response.
Conference organisers Professor Philip Hill (Centre for International Health), Professor Phil Bremer (Food Science), Dr Lena Tan (Politics) and Dr Sherly Parackal (Centre for International Health), say the event will be a platform to share and advance knowledge on addressing the health needs of people living in under-resourced countries. This year, the conference will explore the idea that New Zealand and other nations can be better global citizens.
Established in 2008, the conference has a cross-disciplinary focus on global health, with wide-reaching influence on other fields of research. More than 30 speakers will present on a broad range of topics.
During the conference, the 2023 McAuley Oration will be given by Professor Jennifer Prah, the Amartya Sen Professor of Health Equity at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Prah is also the founder and director of the Health Equity and Policy Lab (HEPL), which conducts research on the equity implications of health and social policies. Her talk will explore health capability, and how we measure, analyse and develop health capability for individuals and policymakers.
Dr Parackal notes that anyone addressing health issues from any discipline will benefit from attending the conference. “Many of the lessons learnt through global health research are applicable to under-served populations in New Zealand and overseas.”
“The conference has a wide range of interesting presentations ranging from non-communicable diseases and health equity, to service and delivery, and social issues.”
The international relevance of this year’s research has attracted speakers and attendees from across New Zealand and overseas.
The McAuley Oration is a free public lecture, held at 1pm on Wednesday ,15 November – room G.10, Centre for Pacific Health, 71 Frederick Street, Dunedin.
All conference events will be held on campus at the University of Otago, and selected sessions will be recorded. For further information, please visit the 2023 OGHI conference website.
~ Kōrero by Sally Knox, Communications Adviser, School of Biomedical Sciences and Molly Wootton, Communications Advisory.