Leadership in Global Health

Agenda

Overview

New and ever more complex global health challenges today demand unprecedented leadership efforts. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the close interconnectedness between communicable and non-communicable diseases, between health, the economy and society. Amid countries’ economic and financial struggles, and ailing health systems, more and more countries lag behind in achieving Sustainable Development targets.

Accomplished and emerging leaders will gather at Imperial College London to discuss current demands for global health leadership, leveraging their experience in dealing with formidable challenges in their respective contexts, and pursuing transformative health system change. Speakers will reflect on themes ranging from improving preparedness for pandemics to stepping up the fight against non-communicable diseases, increasing the sustainability of health systems and the links between health, poverty and the wider economy. Additionally, they will delve into the complex challenge of decolonizing global health and ensuring equal and just representation in leadership roles.

The roundtable will emphasise the need for innovative, equitable and inclusive leadership approaches as the global health landscape evolves.

Date 13/09/23

Time 18:00 to 19:30, followed by a drinks reception

Location LGS, Imperial College Business School

Time Description

17:30 Doors open

18:00 Welcome remarks (Prof. Ian Walmsley, Provost Imperial College London)

18:05 Introduction & setting the scene (Prof. Franco Sassi)

Roundtable discussion: Leadership in Global Health

· Rt. Hon. Helen Clark

Dr Richard Horton

18:10

· Dr Sania Nishtar

· Dr Ebere Okereke

Ms Afifah Ismat Rahman-Shepherd

· Moderator: Prof. Helena Legido-Quigley

19:00 Q&A (Moderator: Prof. Helena Legido-Quigley)

19:20 Final reflections (Prof. Yik-Ying Teo)

19:30 Drinks reception

20:00 Event close

Speaker biographies

Rt. Hon. Helen Clark

Helen Clark was Prime Minister of New Zealand for three successive terms from 1999–2008. She was the first woman to become Prime Minister following a General Election in New Zealand and the second woman to serve as Prime Minister.

Dr Richard Horton

Richard Horton is editor-in-chief of The Lancet, a United Kingdom–based medical journal. He is an honorary professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University College London, and the University of Oslo.

Prof. Helena Legido-Quigley

Helena Legido-Quigley joined The George Institute for Global Health, UK and the School of Public Health, Imperial College London in 2023 as Chair in Health Systems Science. Professor Legido-Quigley also holds a Visiting Professorship in Health Systems at Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore.

Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar

Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar is a member of the Senate (upper house of Parliament) of Pakistan. From 2018, she served as Special Assistant of the Prime Minister of Pakistan and Federal Minister. Dr. Nishtar is former Chair of several multilateral initiatives, the founder of the NGO Heartfile and in 2020 was listed amongst BBC’s 100 most influential women, globally.

Dr. Ebere Okereke

Dr Ebere Okereke is the CEO of the Africa Public Health Foundation. She is a public health physician with extensive experience in policy, strategy, programme development, and implementation. She specialises in global health security, health system strengthening and leadership development and has won awards for her work promoting women and under-represented groups in public health leadership. She is a Fellow of the UK Faculty of Public Health and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House.

Ms Afifah Ismat Rahman-Shepherd

Afifah Rahman-Shepherd is currently a PhD student at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore. Her research focuses on regional approaches to health emergencies, understanding the role regional health organisations play and their governance and technical capabilities in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.

Prof. Franco Sassi

Franco Sassi is currently Chair of International Health Policy and Economics and Director of the Centre for Health Economics & Policy Innovation at Imperial College Business School. Previously he was a Senior Economist and Head of the Economics of Public Health Programme at the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, France), and before that a Senior Lecturer in Health Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Prof. Yik-Yang Teo

Professor Teo Yik Ying is Dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore, and concurrently a Governing Board Member for the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education (SEAMEO) Regional Centre for Tropical Medicine and Public Health Network. Prior to his Deanship, he was the Director for the Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research, and Founding Director for the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research for the School of Public Health.

Established in 2017, the Centre for Health Economics & Policy Innovation (CHEPI) — one of the largest and most active research centres at Imperial College Business School — leads large-scale research projects involving faculty across Imperial College London and other leading academic institutions. We look beyond the traditional boundaries of medical science and technology, healthcare systems and public-health infrastructure. We embrace complexity, recognising that health is determined by many factors interacting within systems that shape behaviours and outcomes.

The George Institute for Global Health is an internationally renowned research organisation with a mission to improve the health of billions of people worldwide. Through research we identify new evidence to prevent and treat noncommunicable diseases and injury, particularly among those living in disadvantaged circumstances. Our findings are used to drive change, steering towards our ultimate vision – a world where all people live longer, healthier lives. In the UK we work in partnership with Imperial College London with a core focus on health systems science, multimorbidity, women’s health, large-scale clinical trials and planetary health.

Established in 2011 as Singapore’s national school of public health, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, under the National University of Singapore aims to continually foster healthier communities in Singapore and the region, and impact public health programmes and policies through its robust educational programmes and translational cross-disciplinary research work on cohort studies and life course epidemiology, infectious disease research, health technology assessments, health promotion, workplace safety and health, health systems evaluation and health services research. An interdisciplinary approach, augmented by rigorous training, applicable research and regional partnerships, places the School at the forefront of public health knowledge discovery and practice in Asia.