Title: Special IH Sessions At San Francisco Annual Meeting
Author:
Section/SPIG: International Health
Issue Date:
In addition to attending scientific panels and poster sessions organized or co-sponsored by the IH Section at the Annual Meeting, an important way to learn what is going on in the Section and to find out how you can get involved is to participate in the various special meetings of the IH Section. These opportunities include the following:
A. Business Meetings:
I. Sunday, Nov. 16, 4:30 – 6 p.m. (session 260.0). This meeting is designed primarily for Section leaders to discuss the Section agenda and activities, but all Section members are welcome. Anyone interested in getting seriously involved in the Section should attend.
II. Monday, Nov. 17, 7 – 8:30 a.m. (session 305.0 – note that it begins at 7 a.m.). This meeting will include reports on the various Section initiatives and activities. It will be the best occasion to find out what is going on in the Section.
III. Tuesday, Nov. 18, 6:30 – 8 p.m. (session 437.0). This meeting will focus on future Section directions and activities. It will be a time of brainstorming and exploring new Section initiatives.
B. Section social hour and awards ceremony
Monday, Nov. 17, 6:30 – 8 p.m. (session 342.0). This is the Section’s “family reunion” and is a great time for networking and honoring the Section’s heroes. With the collaboration of co-hosts, the Institute for Global Health and other offices of UCSF, we will be able to provide more food than usual as well. The venue is the Thirsty Bear Brewing Company and Spanish Tapas Restaurant at 661 Howard St., only one block from the main conference center. Although the session “officially” ends at 8 p.m., the restaurant venue is available to the Section until 9 p.m..
C. International Health Section luncheon
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 12:30 – 2 p.m. This event is a gala luncheon with a distinguished speaker, who will be announced by October by broadcast email. Students who cannot afford the luncheon cost are welcome to come at 1:15PM to hear the speaker.
D. Unique session on history of international health in the United States
The IH Section is quite proud to report progress on its history project launched two years ago. After reviewing the history of the International Health Section, the Rockefeller Foundation provided a grant to APHA for publishing and distributing a booklet on the History of International Health at APHA. The history includes the early years of development of an international health strategy and the establishment of the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA), the links with the National Council for International Health (NCIH), and the 1976 formal establishment of the International Health Section in APHA. All IH members will receive a copy.
Associated with its publication will be a special session entitled "Panel on History of International Health" at the San Francisco Annual Meeting:
Monday, November 17, 12:30 – 2 p.m., (session 3249.0). Allen Jones and Ray Martin will be the moderators. The presenters are:
- Elizabeth Fee, PhD, Chief, History of Medicine, NIH National Library of Medicine, speaking on "Examining a Framework: The Three Phases of International Health;"
- Frank Lostumbo, Senior Global Health Consultant, Advisor and Author, speaking on "APHA and International Health: Trends and Actors from an Historical Perspective;"
- Russell Morgan, DrPH, President, The Spry Foundation, speaking on "Divergent Strands in US International Health: The Early Years;" and
- Gerry Dafoe, Executive Director, Canadian Public Health Association, speaking on "US International Health Experience as Viewed from Outside."
E. Other IH-related events
Finally, two other opportunities at the Annual Meeting not sponsored by the IH Section but of great interest to IH professionals are the November 18 breakfast, by invitation only, sponsored by the WFPHA and a number of the eight APHA Special Sessions scheduled for 10:30 a.m. to Noon on both November 18 and 19, for example:
· Special Session # 4089.0 on "Challenging Inequities in Health -- From Ethics to Action," moderated by IH member Jack Bryant, examining health disparities on a global scale and potential entry points for policy and program action. There will be a comparison of the United States and Bangladesh.
· Special Session # 4090.0 on "Public Health and the Pursuit of Peace," examining the human consequences of war from a public health perspective, with updates on Iraq and Afghanistan and discussion of peace building and prevention.
· Special Session # 4091.0 on "Global Health Impact/Interconnection - Urban Health" which will examine the impact of global urbanization on mental and overall health.
· Special Session # 5077.0 on “Connecting People to Public Health - Domestic and International: A Universal Challenge,” with a presentation by IH member Ed Elmendorf on promoting and strengthening global public health.
· Special Session # 5079.0 on "Ethics and Human Rights: Public Health in Action," which will include an international component.
--Ray Martin, Chair