Conference On Journalism And Health Looks At WHA Issues

On the eve of the 66^th edition of the World Health Assembly, the World Health Editors Network (WHEN) and the Who’s There? Yes (WTY) convened for a conference on their new Journalism and Health Initiative. The conference, entitled, “Enter the stadium, democratise knowledge, bring it home,” focussed on increasing access and awareness of health policy and problems by the general public.

The coordinators of this conference, Franklin Apfel and Chitra Subramaniam, are themselves veterans of the WHA and the World Health Organization, having both contributed to the WHO Tobacco Free Initiative. With their journalistic and public health experience, Apfel and Subramaniam brought together a diverse group of individuals from all backgrounds, such as medicine, journalism, and business, but all shared the common goal of enhancing health literacy.

Eero Lahtinen, the health attaché to the Finnish Embassy in Geneva, laid the landscape for what was to be expected at this year’s WHA. He cited noncommunicable diseases (NCDs, such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases) and the resolution on the report of the Consultative Expert Working Group (CEWG) on financing for research and development on neglected diseases as two of the most political topics to be discussed in the coming week.

Lahtinen underscored the importance of financing and implementation, and how politicisation of these issues complicates matters. With regards to the role of WHO as a normative organisation in public health, Lahtinen pointed out that despite the lack of a binding nature of the agreements made at the WHA, these agreements still have tremendous impact in setting the tone and priorities for public health worldwide.

Jon Pearman from the GAVI Alliance spoke about the organisation and its role in WHO’s Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP), particularly how GAVI Alliance’s four-pronged approach to increasing vaccination coverage, improving health systems, sustainable financing, and shaping markets to ensure adequate supply of appropriate, quality vaccines, at low, sustainable prices compared with that of WHO’s GVAP. One of the questions about GVAP is whether it is sufficient to achieve significant goals because it has no financing plan or any specific targets.

A reoccurring theme heard not just throughout the day’s proceedings, but also in the lead-up to WHA66 has been that of the multisectorality of health; that in order to achieve anything in health, be it the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), sustainable development goals (SDGs), or otherwise, countries must adopt systematic programs and reforms.

Subramaniam raised the point that because of the globalisation and integration of health into development agendas, the shared responsibility of health has resulted in inaction. However, there is an increasing focus on financing to improve entire health systems. As such, public and private sectors, which have traditionally been at odds, must work together to achieve common goals, she said. Precisely how is the question. And whether or not this question is answered in the next seven days remains to be seen.

Other speakers at the event included Peter Ungphakorn, public affairs officer at the World Trade Organization, and William New, editor-in-chief at Intellectual Property Watch.

Brittany Ngo is currently completing her Master’s in Health Policy and Global Health at the Yale School of Public Health and previously obtained a Bachelor’s of Arts in Economics from Georgetown University. Through her studies she has developed an interest in health-related intellectual property issues. She is a summer intern at Intellectual Property Watch.