Plenary sessions

Title: Building inclusive health systems: From vision to implementation

Short abstract:

Health is an investment, and the health system is one of its social determinants. Notwithstanding the global goal of inclusive universal health coverage, the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the fragility of national health systems. This plenary address will highlight the benefits of building inclusive health systems amidst global demographic changes, complex disease burdens, an explosion of new technologies, and a changing world order. The talk will explore strategies to transform visionary ideas into practical action that foster equity and equality in health systems.

Affiliation: University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa

Biosketch:

Laetitia Rispel is Professor of Public Health at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she holds a Research Chair on the Health Workforce as part of the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI). Her research interests are in human resources for health and the performance of the health care system. 
Laetitia Rispel has won several national and international awards, including a prestigious Senior Africa Oxford Fellowship in acknowledgement of her wide-ranging research, teaching, and leadership expertise. She was president of the World Federation of Public Health Associations from 2018 to 2020, the first woman from Africa and the third in the history of the organisation to achieve this honour. Professor Rispel is an inaugural member of the International Academy of Quality and Safety under the auspices of the International Society for Quality in Health Care. In 2024, she was appointed as an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow in Health Systems at Oxford University. Professor Rispel is a member of the World Health Organization’s Expert Advisory Group to review the Code on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel. 

Title: Global Health - All for One and One for All

Short abstract: 

Equitable, affordable and accessible health care are some of the foundation stones of Global Health. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) spell these out in detail; but the problem is how to achieve them. 

We will look at some of the underlying causes and their consequences and look for sustainable, answers in our deeply divided world. 

Affiliation: Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre Malawi

Biosketch:

Elizabeth Molyneux is emeritus professor of paediatrics at the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Blantyre Malawi. She lived and worked in Malawi for over 33 years. She is a co-founder of APLS (Advanced Paediatric Life Support course and ETAT (Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment) for WHO. In Blantyre she developed the emergency unit, started palliative care for children, the KMC unit and oncology services. More recently she is one of the NEST360 team trying to reduce preventable neonatal mortality in 5 African countries. Her research interests are wide and include neonatal care, infectious diseases, ‘tropical’ oncology, emergency care, health care delivery and health care systems.

Title: Impact of global change on the risk of spread of tropical diseases in Europe in a changing world

Short abstract:

Climate change contributes to the increase and impact of existing health risks by changing the environmental conditions in which communicable diseases thrive. Rising temperatures, milder winters, more frequent extreme weather events, and changing rainfall patterns are creating more favourable conditions for the transmission of some vector-, food-, and waterborne diseases. Vector-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya virus disease, West Nile virus infections, Lyme borreliosis, and tick-borne encephalitis are particularly sensitive to changes in temperature, humidity and rainfall. Warmer temperatures increase mosquito and tick survival and shorten pathogen incubation times, which in turns accelerate disease transmission cycles. Furthermore, increased flooding and heatwaves can contribute to water- and foodborne outbreaks, for example by compromising infrastructure or refrigeration, as well as overwhelming health systems during extreme events. But climate change is not the only factor playing a role here. Increase in travel and trade are also drivers that facilitate the spread of disease, considered to be “tropical” to more temperate zones.

Affiliation: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

Biosketch:

I am a physician by training, with a PhD in immunology of viral infections, and eight years of clinical practice experience in a teaching hospital in Poland in the field of infectious diseases.  Between 1997-2000, I have worked at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) and later as a medical epidemiologist.  Since 2007, I have been working at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC http://ecdc.europa.eu ) as a Deputy Head of the Unit (first of the Scientific Advice Unit, then the Office of the Chief Scientist and the Disease Programme Unit) and, since 1 June 2024, as the Chief Scientist of the Centre. I have published on topics such as vaccination, influenza, burden of disease, use of electronic medical records for research, epidemiologic methodology in general and others.

Title: The political changes shaping the landscape of global health

Short abstract:

In our lifetime we have witnessed an incredible revolution in how we understand health for our populations – from community health, to public health, to international health, to global health to planetary health. An evolution underpinned by a strong scientific evidence base indicating the interconnected nature of our world, human health, animal health and the health of the planets natural systems. The global health architecture is undergoing a major transition, partly due to a shift in the financing mechanisms that have largely directed and supported public health systems in low- and middle-income countries. In a changing world – the global health architecture has to adapt and be responsive to the needs of our growing and changing populations, supporting both the epidemiological and demographic transitions underway.

Affiliation: Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)

Biosketch:

Shingai Machingaidze is an epidemiologist and global health leader. She has developed and led public health and clinical research programs that build the capacity of Africa-based scientists and institutions in Africa. Her expertise includes strategic engagement, planning and support of large public health programmes; conducting and managing clinical trials and clinical research; managing research grants and finances; as well as managing strategic partnerships and engagements with national, regional and international agencies. She has published in leading scientific journals and is a member of several institutional, regional and global advisory boards including the Advisory Committee for the Clinical Trials Community, the Global Advisory Council for Global Health Impact, and Co-Chair of the 100 Days Mission Science Technology Expert Group (STEG) at the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat (IPPS). She was previously the Ag. Chief Science Officer for Africa CDC as well as the CPHIA Secretariat Lead and currently serves at the Head of Africa Strategy and Engagement at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).