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Health Equity in the SDG era: Perspectives from Southeast Asia
The George Institute for Global Health, India in collaboration with the Southeast Asia Region of the International Working Group for Health Systems Strengthening (IWG) is proud to present their sixth iteration of the Global Lecture Series on “Health Equity in the SDG era: Perspectives from Southeast Asia”.
The Southeast Asia Region of the IWG & The George Institute for Global Health, India, will be delving into a discussion on health equity in the SDG era. With eminent panellists from diverse contexts in the domain of health equity. The presentations will bring diverse national experiences on health equity –oriented research, policy, and capacity-building initiatives from across the region.
Area of focus
Worldwide concern over disparity and inequities resulted in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) commitment to “leave no one behind” the field of health equity research, with long origins in movements for social justice and health for all, is now increasingly established the world over. Progress on understanding health inequities and tackling them in a holistic and sustained fashion, however, has been uneven. Quite often, across regions, the lowest hanging fruit in tackling inequity have been chosen over more comprehensive, difficult, and participatory processes.
Despite sizeable social progress in the post-colonial period for several countries in the Southeast Asian region, the high burden of maternal and child mortality is joined by drivers of climate degradation, epidemiological transitions leading to heightened burdens of non-communicable diseases, challenges of over and under nutrition and health systems that, in many cases are chronically underfunded. The challenges of understanding and addressing health equity are clearly large, and those who have been at the frontlines of tackling these thorny issues may have some insights on what has worked, and what has not on the national and even regional scale.
Speakers
Antonio Bonito - World Health Organisation, Regional Office & former Executive Director, the National Institute of Health, Timor Leste
Dr Sohana Shafique – Deputy Project Coordinator, Urban Health Research Group, icddr,b, Bangladesh
The session concludes with moderated discussions and Q&A session where the audience can ask questions. Follow and engage with the George Institute on social media handles. Follow us on Twitter & Facebook @GeorgeInstIN
[1] Friedman EA, Gostin LO, Kavanagh MM, et al. Putting health equity at heart of universal coverage—the need for national programmes of action. BMJ; 367. Epub ahead of print October 25, 2019. DOI: 10.1136/BMJ.L5901.
[2] Rasanathan K, Diaz T. Research on health equity in the SDG era: the urgent need for greater focus on implementation. Int J Equity Heal 2017 151 2016; 15: 1–3.
[3] Wagstaff A, Eozenou P, Neelsen S, et al. Introducing the World Bank’s 2018 Health Equity and Financial Protection Indicators database. Lancet Glob Heal 2019; 7: e22–e23.
[4] CU T. Health Inequalities in South Asia at the Launch of Sustainable Development Goals: Exclusions in Health in Kerala, India Need Political Interventions. Int J Health Serv 2018; 48: 57–80.
Statement on the IPCC ‘Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis' report
The George Institute for Global Health is calling for the urgent phase out of fossil fuels after the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ‘Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis’ report. The report shows that without immediate action, global temperature increases as a result of human-induced climate change will exceed 1.5C around 2030. This increase means that within the next decade, extreme weather events will become more common, food security will be jeopardised, and the social and environmental determinants of health will be exacerbated, having serious consequences for global health.
Professor Robyn Norton AO, Principal Director of The George Institute for Global Health, said:
In compromising sustainable development, climate change risks leaving communities experiencing the most disadvantage behind. High-income countries have a responsibility to the global community to reduce their emissions immediately and must commit to providing the necessary resources to support low- and middle-income countries to mitigate and adapt to climate-related disruptions.
Adaptive responses include strengthening healthcare systems to cope with the adverse consequences of global heating, as Professor Vivekanand Jha, Executive Director of The George Institute, India, explains:
“The increase in extreme heat waves due to global warming seems to be accelerating the rate of chronic kidney disease among at-risk populations, for instance among young agricultural workers in rural regions in India. Heat stress and dehydration are compounding factors in kidney damage and increase the likelihood of severe disease. Alongside immediate action to halt rising global temperatures, governments and researchers must scale-up surveillance to better understand the scale of the heat stress neuropathy epidemic.”
Dr Kate Hunter and Dr Julieann Coombes, Co-leads of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research Program at The George Institute, Australia said:
“Global warming represents one of the most significant threats to global health in the 21st century. Remedial action must ensure meaningful involvement of those most impacted. Effective, inclusionary approaches in Australia must privilege the voices and knowledges of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as Traditional Custodians of the lands, and given the wealth of their lived experience of the effects of climate change on the environment and its relation to health and wellbeing.”
Co-Chair of The George Institute’s Planetary Health Working Group, Chelsea Hunnisett commented:
“It is time for governments to take the findings of the IPCC seriously. As we approach COP26, governments must set out an ambitious agenda to rapidly decrease their dependence on fossil fuels. This is crucial to protecting the planet and the health of everyone who lives on it.”
Find out more about The George Institute for Global Health’s planetary health work here.
The George Institute has joined hands with UNICEF India to launch an Innovation challenge to identify “disruptive solutions for psycho-social support to health workers
