medsin conference booklet
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A booklet to accompany a medsin conference.TRANSCRIPT
Medsin Global Health Conference, 27th-28th March 2010, Newcastle Upon Tyne
2050:A Healthy Future?
to the Medsin Global Health Conference 2010, set in
the buzzing city of Newcastle, officially the best place in the UK to be a student, pipping Aberystwythe to the
post*, sorry chaps. On behalf of the enFre Medsin commiHee here in Newcastle, may we congratulate you on
choosing two days of intense, acFon‐packed fun instead of a weekend catching up with the Cash In The AMc
and Hollyoaks omnibuses. What you would gain in anFque knowledge and peHy drama entertainment cannot
make up for the whirlwind of facts and friendships you will undoubtedly acquire in the next forty‐eight hours.
You may well have met up with your accommodaFon buddy and squeezed yourself in with the others sharing
the house for the night, and we hope you’ve seHled well.
The conference is enFtled: 2050 A Healthy Future? This is no mere intelligent
but useless rhetorical quesFon, it is a complex conundrum which we aim to
unravel over the course of the weekend. So picture the world in 2050. Aside
from the obvious things like intergalacFc travel, hover boots and GilleHe
razors with twenty seven blades, how will the health of our populaFon have changed? We know there’s an
obesity epidemic, We know we face an ageing populaFon,and we know that climate change is occurring and
acceleraFng. But exactly how this will impact upon health in communiFes and naFons is harder to determine.
Furthermore, it all depends on our intervenFons on a personal and global level.
You may think that this would suffice for a conference of
our stature. But we don’t aim to merely suffice. In
between plenaries you will pop off to the workshop to
enjoy their focus on smaller, more digesFble issues in a
directly engaging way, with anything from fierce debates
to immediate, pracFcal acFon.
The quesFon of whether our future can be a healthy one
is fiercely contested. We hope by the end of GHC 2010
you will feel empowered to add your voice to the debate!
Thanks for coming! Newcastle Medsin
* Oh yes it’s true (according to hHp://
www.accommodaFonforstudents.com/)
Welcome...
Lord Nigel Crisp is an independent crossbench member
of the House of Lords and works mainly on international
development and global health. His new book “Turning
the world upside down – the search for global health in
the 21st Century” was published at the end of January
2010. It takes further the ideas about mutual learning
between rich and poor countries that he developed in
his 2007 report for the Prime Minister – “Global Health
Partnerships”: the UK contribution to health in developing
Keynote Speech
countries – and shows how this will shape healthcare in the future. He co-chaired
an international Task Force on increasing the education and training of health
workers globally, which advocated practical ways to increase massively the training
of health workers in developing countries, in May 2008.
He was both Chief Executive of the NHS between 2000 and 2006 and Permanent
Secretary of the Department of Health and led major reforms in the health system.
He is a member of the Health Worker Migratory Advisory Council, a Champion
Advocate for the Global Health Workforce Alliance and an Advisory Board Member
of the African Centre for Health and Social Development.
“Turning the world upside down”
Welcome from Newcastle Medsin!
So what can you look forward to this weekend?
And more importantly, when is lunch?
Whats on?
RegistraFon opens
IntroducFons to Conference
Keynote
Plenary 1‐ Climate Change
Coffee
Workshop 1
Lunch
Plenary 2 – Ageing
Coffee
Campaigns
Medsin QuesFon Time
Finish
Social @ WHQ
Buffet Dinner served
Entertainment
Club night opens
clocks go forward!!
Plenary 3‐ Resources
Coffee
Workshop 2
Lunch
Campaigns
Workshop 3
Coffee
Plenary 4‐ AcFon
FINISH
0800
0900
0910
0940
1110
1140
1240
1340
1510
1540
1600
1715
1900
1930
2100
2300
saturday
sunday
0930
1100
1130
1230
1330
1345
1445
1515
1645
Workshops will be held in the 3rd and 4th floors of the Leech building, and in the Ridley building. There will be a list of workshops at the porters lodge, and please ask anyone in a white t-shirt if you are lost!
The future ain't what it used to be-Discuss.
©
You are here..?
David Shaw Lecture Theatre
computer cluster
Lecture theatre C
Lecture theatres D-F
cafe
porte
rs
Stairs to the David Shaw lecture theatre
To the Ridley building for worshops. 300m on your left
Common Room
for lunch and coffee!
To the Leech building for workshops Lunch lunch lunch!
from tasty, local and ethical Dene’s deli!
Remember to recycle!
Lost?
Please ask anyone in a conference t-shirt for help!
My Conference....
My Workshops
workshop1 room
workshop2 room
workshop3 room
Accomodation contactsNotes
Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. Wayne Dyer
The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. Albert Einstein
Across
1. AbbreviaFon of 1d, 18a (3)
6. A country within South
Africa, with the lowest
elevaFon in the world (7)
8. The country with the 2nd
most army personnel aoer 5d
(5)
10. Country with highest rate
of deforestaFon (6)
11. Country with the second
highest Gross DomesFc
Product, aoer 1a. (5)
13. Country with highest gross
NaFonal Product per capita,
and was the founding
member of the European
Union and the 1d, 22a. Next
door to Belgium. (9)
14. Used to be called Persia
(4)
15. Monarchy (7) With 1d:
Country where the average
age of the populaFon is 40,
with a current life expectancy
at birth of 79. (6,7)
18. With 1d, highest carbon
emissions from consumpFon
of energy (6,6)
19. The local name for this
country, near 1d, 15a (4)
22. A large body of people, a
country or territory (7). With
1d: Peace keepers. Leader is
Ban Ki‐moon (6, 7)
23. Country with lowest infant
mortality and government run
health system (4)
24. Country that held the
2009 Climate Change summit
in December (7)
5
1 2
9
3
8
6
13
4
10
12
24
23
18
20 21
22
16
19
1715
7
11
14
Down
1. Came together, to share a common view (6)
2. African country, on west coast, with highest child mortality in
the world. Speak Portuguese. (6)
3. Country with highest percentage of land covered in forest. (6)
4. Country with highest rate of inflaFon. (8)
5. Most highly populated country in the world and highest carbon
emissions (5)
6. Country where the highest ever temperature was recorded. Flag
is just green with no paHern or other colours on it. Forth largest
African country, highest Human Development Index in Africa (5)
7. Country that spends the most on computer games, and has the
longest coastline in the world (6)
9. Highest Human Development Index in the world. Formally
adverFsed by Kerry Katona (7)
12. The least corrupt country in the world, made up of 2 islands in
the Pacific Ocean (3,7)
16. Country with most Spanish speakers, borders 1a. (6)
17. Country with most tourists visiFng each year, largest country in
European Union (6)
20. Most corrupt country in the world, used to be called Burma (7)
21. A small country with highest life expectancy, and in the
Pyrenees (7)
CrossWordWorld!
We’re pumping more Carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by the second,
more ice is careening into the sea at either pole, more methane is
bubbling up from ancient chasms, and more cute penguins face extinction.
Our climate is changing and changing fast, which inevitably has an effect
on biosystems equipped to deal with the conditions they initially grew into.
This will undoubtedly affect the physical and (especially in the case of
witnessing the plight of penguins) mental health of populations across the
globe. The economic South will inevitably be hit worst, with a constantly
increasing rate of drought and extreme weather. This plenary is an
excellent opportunity to learn the finer details of this important global issue.
On a more local level, we will discuss the effect that running the NHS is
potentially having on climate change. The Carbon Footprint of the NHS and
other large organisations can be substantially reduced, and we have the
exciting opportunity to learn how from the figurehead of the project. 1.3
million people work for the NHS, the third largest employer in the world
after the Indian Railway and Chinese Army. Chances are you’ll be working
for one of these three and hence an opportunity to learn how to make
your future work environment as green as possible is not one to be
missed.
Plenary1:Climate
Dr David Pencheon is director of the NHS Sustainable
Development Unit. He has special interest in sustainable
development and climate change and is leading the mission to
improve policy and action in these areas -including by cutting
CO2 emissions- on a local and national level. After the
realisation that the NHS risked being more ‘part of the
problem than part of the solution’ with regards climate change, we may be able to learn from these efforts how
global healthcare systems can follow the example of the UK.
Due to unforseen circumstances we had some trouble
tieing down our third plenary speaker! Do not worry, the
one we do get (who you will have the pleasure of
meeting...) will no doubt be incredible.
Hold on in there, its like christmas all over again.
Mustafa Abbas is currently a third year medical
student at UCL, where he also obtained an iBSc in
International Health. He has a long history of
involvement with Medsin at both branch and national
level. He was Branch President of Medsin-UCL, and is
currently the Vice- President for Branches for Medsin-
UK. He is also outgoing director of Healthy Planet, a
position he has held for two years. He was recently a
contributing author to the UCL-Lancet Commission on
Managing the Health Effects of Climate Change.
We’re all getting older. Not just individually, which is fairly obvious, but also as a
whole population. Incredible advances in medicine are pushing life expectancy so high
that The Queen is getting repetitive strain disorder, and the UN predicts 9.1 Billion
people squashed onto Earth by 2050, a 38% leap. It’s a little known fact that on
current trajectories we gain a year of life for every five, which, despite making your
procrastinating not seem so bad, is potentially a strain on our ability to achieve
health equality for all. An ageing population could increase pressure on health services
across the globe. If so, how will they cope? Thinking more locally, since the NHS can
never offer all aspects of care to the elderly, who will? The ageing population also
directly forces us to address the way in which we deliver care. Do we care more
about the potentially curable conditions than the chronic conditions associated with
geriatric healthcare? An ageing population is normally considered a problem of the
rich world. However, by 2050, it is likely that 80% of the world’s over 65s will
live in the economic South. Will this cause further, unneeded economic burden, or
greater difficulty in supporting older people?
There are many presumptions regarding what will happen to us in an ageing
population, and often these are outdated, some would even say ageist. So be
prepared to drop your preconceptions at the door and learn what life will really be
like for the zimmer-wielding silver foxes of the future.
Plenary2:Ageing
Prof Thomas Kirkwood is currently the Director for the
Institute for Ageing and Health at Newcastle University. His
research interests are in the evolution and genetics of ageing
and mechanisms of cellular ageing, mathematical biology and
biological standardisation. He has a BA in Mathematics from
Cambridge University, a MSc in Applied Statistics from Oxford
University and a PhD in Biology form Cambridge University. He
has had various research positions across the country,
including Professor of Biological Gerontology at the University
of Manchester and Head of the Laboratory of Mathematical
Biology at the MRC Institute for Medical Research in London.
Nigel Unwin is Professor of Epidemiology and leads the Advancing Research in
Chronic Disease Epidemiology Programme (ARCHEPI), in the Institute of Health and
Society at Newcastle University. His research interests are
in the epidemiology and prevention of diabetes and related
chronic disease, both within the UK and in low and
middle-income countries, especially Africa. He regularly
contributes to the work of the diabetes group at WHO
Geneva, and to the work of the International Diabetes
Federation.
Tessa Pollard is currently a senior lecturer in the Department
of Anthropology at Durham University, a lecturer in the Health
and Human Sciences department and a Fellow of the Wolfson
Research Institute. Her main research interest is in working to
explain why some groups of people, especially those of South
Asian origin living in the UK, have very high rates of metabolic
diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
She approaches this work from two different perspectives,
improving understanding of current lifestyle and health
behaviours, and an evolutionary perspective.
Everyone wants their share of the pie. Now it’s been wrestled over so much it looks
like a personal attack on Mr Kipling. Problems are inevitably arising in our expanding
Plenary3:Resourcespopulation with limited resources, which are often kept under
lock and key for the sake of profit. So what’s being done to
tackle this problem head on?
Thanks to the incredible efforts of campaign groups including
our own Stop AIDS society, Unitaid (the international drugs
purchasing facility) voted for an HIV drug patent pool last September, potentially
allowing millions in the economic South to access generic drugs at affordable prices.
This means that that medications can be developed for HIV sufferers and important
combined medicines can be created. Despite still being a step away from involving all
drugs companies in the pool, this exemplifies positive changing attitudes of the West
towards resource distribution. This plenary will explore whether this positive trend will
continue to 2050, or whether we will face higher charges from pharmaceutical
companies stashing their pieces of pastry.
Within Britain, resource distribution is a shifting landscape. Last year saw a redraft
of healthcare policy which withheld some aspects of healthcare to asylum seekers
who have had their claims rejected by the
government. This controversial policy was criticized by
the healthcare community as potentially illegal and
inhumane, and is an indicator of the extent to which
our country can disable access to resources to
groups of society. Speakers will discuss our local
means of dispersing wealth, health and inequality,
and how this may change in the future for different
groups of society, especially our vulnerable
populations of immigrants.
Johanna Hanefeld is a doctoral researcher in the Health
Policy Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine, focusing on policy processes of access to
treatment for HIV/AIDS and TB in sub-Saharan Africa.
Before coming to the School she worked for seven years
on health and health systems in low-income countries
most recently for Amnesty International and the Panos
Global AIDS Programme.
Dr Edwin Borman is a Consultant Anaesthetist based in
Warwickshire. He is a previous Chairman of the BMA
International Committee and Chair of the GMC’s committee
on Diversity and Equality and is currently on the BMA
Council. He has special interest in asylum seeker and
refugee health and health inequalities among many other
prominent global health issues. He has contributed to articles
on a range of topics from institutional racism within the NHS to the re-employment
of qualified medical professional refugees in Britain, and the potential benefits to the
Prof Danny Dorling is professor of Human Geography at
Sheffield University., where he leads the Social and Spatial
inequalities department. He also is one of the
masterminds behind the website: www.worldmapper.org
His current interests involve trying to understand and map
the changing social, political and medical geographies of
Britain and further afield, concentrating on social and
spatial inequalities to life chances and how these may be
narrowed.
By now you may be thinking that 2050 is all
doom and gloom, a post-apocalyptic nightmare
as depressing and unnessesary to know about
as The Day After Tomorrow. But what a film
with extremely dodgy scientific assertions
won’t tell you is that there is the potential for
a healthy future. In this plenary, speakers will
discuss how we, individually, nationally and
globally, can organize such a healthy future.
The tragedy of the Haitian earthquake fortifies
a central issue of how we should prepare for
the inevitable increase in natural disasters,
both at home and in the transportation of aid
to other countries. We have previously
Plenary4:Action
discussed the economic burden and actions of pharmaceutical
companies as being barriers to attaining global health in 2050,
and we shall discuss how this will have to change for the future.
If we progress successfully towards achieving greater health
equality, who should govern our global health policy and why?
Furthermore, who should pay for the sustenance of global health
and through what means? All these issues and more shall be
discussed with a view to progressing towards a healthy future.
So ignore all of Hollywood’s impending doomsday special effects
and predictable romance, and listen to how a very real problem
can be tackled head-on.
It is said that the present is pregnant with the future. Voltaire
One must care about a world one will not see.Bertrand Russell
Dr Andrew Lee qualified in medicine from the University of Edinburgh. Following paediatric
and tropical medicine training, he worked in primary health care and tuberculosis control
programmes in Afghanistan. He undertook an MSc in Public Health at the London School of
Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. His thesis examined beneficiary perspectives of humanitarian
aid. He worked in general practice, genito-urinary medicine and geriatric medicine before
joining Sheffield University’s School of Health and Related Research. He currently lectures
on international health needs assessment, disaster planning and impact evaluation, and is
the lead developer of the health protection module for the Public Health MSc.
Sir Michael Rawlins has been chairman of NICE since its formation. He is also Honorary
Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, and
Emeritus Professor at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He was
Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Newcastle upon
Tyne from 1973 to 2006 .Concurrently he was also consultant
physician and consultant clinical pharmacologist to the Newcastle
Hospitals NHS Trust. He was vice-chairman and chairman of the
Committee on Safety of Medicines; and chairman of the Advisory
Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
Benny Dembitzer is an economist who has spent almost 40 years
working on grassroot development projects across Africa, in Pakistan
and Indonesia. He has worked for the United Nations Development
Programme, the World Bank and various NGOs, and the
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. Since
then Benny has worked as a development consultant. He has
recently published a book entitled “The attack on world poverty”.
His interests include the food crisis in the global south, the
influence of international aid, and the importance of fair trade.
SocialSo we’re treating you to an unbelievable quantity of intellectually
stimulating activity during the day, challenging you at every step of the
way and educating you in a number of different disciplines. You’re
probably thinking that given this input, you’ll be expected to be in bed
before eight with a hot water bottle, a sensibly sized mug of horlicks
and an alarm set for six (you don’t want to be late for tomorrow).
Right? Wrong sister, this conference is as much about communication,
socialising and sourcing out like minded individuals as it is about
education, and we’ve got just the itinerary to make this happen.
Saturday will be a different ball game. This is your chance to party with
new found friends and old amigos. There’ll be something for everyone,
and it all kicks off at the famous World Headquarters nightclub. Doors
open at 7pm, food will be served at 7.30pm- a selection of hot and
cold vegan, vegetarian and carnivorous culinary delights, all ethically
sourced, will be provided, with plenty of time to rest and digest. Then,
curries safely far down, we will have a ceilidh at 9pm. Don’t worry,
you don’t need to be a ceilidh veteran to attend, all the dances will be
called and they all come with a maximum enjoyment guarantee (however
no guarantees against minor bruising can be provided unfortunately). If this isn’t your scene we’ll have the World Headquarters resident DJs
spinning soul, funk, Motown and plenty more to get you pulling incredible
shapes on the dancefloor through till 4am.
Phew, thats a lot of information, but I have one more factlet. Considering
we’re talking forty years into the future during the day, Saturday night is
futuristic disco themed. We want to see the best robot costumes since Dr
Who decided that daleks couldn’t be represented by upturned bins anymore.
We’ll have foil on the door if you need, but we’d love it if you got creative
and dazzled us with your own cyber couture.
We hope this is enough to keep you entertained
over the weekend. If you’re ever looking for
something to do though, just ask the committee. We
aim to entertain.
Need a Taxi? These are cheap and cheerful-0191 262 6666 0191 287 7777
otherwise monument metro is nearby