Hello,

Sorry for my delay in updating this!  I’m writing this on my very last night in Geneva. So sad to think! It really has been a wonderful past two weeks. When I think back on all we’ve done, learn, and seen, I’m amazed!! I feel very fortunate to have had this experience and I’m looking forward to taking what I’ve learned and putting it into practice! It’s given me lots to think about. 

Tonight, a few of us had one last dinner in “Old Town.” Complete with a lovely dessert of Swiss coffee and creme brulee. The rest of the evening will be spent packing and going through all of the materials I came away with from the World Health Assembly!

Earlier today, we had the opportunity to visit the U.S. Mission in Geneva. Their purpose is to work across countries and international organizations on diplomatic work related to health, labor and trade, the environment, arms control, human rights, etc. This was extremely interesting. We heard from a panel of speakers who represented refugee/migration work, the human rights council, economic and science affairs, and the World Trade Organization. Of particular interest to me were the speakers on refugee health (a personal interest of mine) and the human rights council. It is really interesting how much work is done in Geneva in the realm of international relations. The city really does buzz with it!

Following the U.S. Mission, we came back to the dorm, had some lunch, met as a big group one last time, and then we dispersed to do last minute things - souvenir shopping, packing, walking through the city, etc. I took this opportunity to stop by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This past semester, I’ve begun doing more research into refugee health issues and it is very clear this is a major global health concern. They have a visitor’s center available, so I stopped in and grabbed some information. Maybe some day I’ll have the chance to do some work for them! (http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home).

As for yesterday, we spent the morning visiting the International Council of Nurses (ICN), a global organization that works with nurses to advance practice standards. It was really interesting to hear from the clinical perspective how care is delivered across the world. Again, we learned more about how different clinical experiences can be depending on the country and region in which you live. We are fortunate in the U.S. to have the health care system we do, despite the challenges and flaws it may have. 

After our visit at the ICN, we had the rest of the day to ourselves. A few of us went and checked out a Swiss Salvation Army to see if we could come away with some good thrift finds. We left empty handed, but it’s fun to do familiar things in new settings! For dinner, we returned to our lovely Lebanese restaurant that we stopped at earlier in our trip. As usual, the food was amazing - I don’t think I’ll ever forget how delicious those falafel wraps were :)

The big news to share since my last post was our trip to Paris!! We had a really good time, even though we didn’t have tons of time to spend there!  Our day began bright and early - our train was leaving at about 6:20 am, so we met at about 5:15 am to make sure we were there on time. It was probably one of the easiest early morning wake ups I’ve had in a long time - Paris is worth waking up early for!  When we arrived at the train, though, we had some technical difficulties which resulted in us not leaving until about an hour after we were scheduled to. (Something was wrong with the track). Traveling by train is a fun experience though!  

The trip into Paris took about 3 hours - luckily, with the early morning wake up, we were able to get some sleep in on the way!  

When we arrived at Gare de Lyon train station (a main train station hub in Paris), our first order of business was to get Metro tickets and make our way to Notre Dame. After spending a little bit of time at the ticket machine, figuring out just which ticket it was that we needed, we were on our way! 

This was my third trip to Paris, but honestly, going back is always like the first time! Paris has a special place in my heart - it’s such a beautiful city with a (in my opinion) very fascinating history. I was just happy to be there! 

After hopping on and off the metro, we strolled along the streets for a bit until we reached Notre Dame. We had the opportunity to walk through the church, which I think is just beautiful. After Notre Dame, we made our way to the Louvre. Since our time was limited (and the line was long), we didn’t get the chance to go in. We snapped some fun pictures in the mean time, though! From there, we walked along the Champs, had some lunch, and then went to the Arc du Triomphe. We decided to take a trip to the top of the Arc and take in the view, which was fun! Getting to the top required you to walk up a winding staircase of a couple hundred steps to get to. The view was gorgeous though! (See below). 

Following the Arc, we had one last major stop we were able to make - the Eiffel Tower. At this point, the day, which had been overcast for the most part, perked up and we had lovely blue, sunny skies. No better way to enjoy the Eiffel Tower!  We also took this as an opportunity to buy some crepes (I had nutella and banana - so delicious!) and coffee and enjoy them along the river by the Tower. It was probably one of my favorite parts about the trip!

After the Eiffel Tower, we unfortunately had to make our way back to the train. The day went by SO fast (all of them have out here). The train ride there and back was fun, though. Eight of us were able to share a section, so we had fun just hanging out! By the time we got home, we were exhausted!

So that’s the past few days in a nutshell!  As I’ve said, this trip really has been an extremely beneficial, educational, and wonderful experience. I got to spend time exploring a new country, city, and culture, and I also learned so many things that will benefit me professionally for years to come. I’m going to come home with lots of think about and I hope that I can make a difference somewhere in the future based on what I’ve learned. In many ways, the journey is just beginning, even though the trip has ended! I appreciate you reading along - I hope you’ve enjoyed it! I plan to continue updating periodically on how things have gone since the trip - after I arrive back in the U.S., everything picks right back up! Lots of public health work to be done :)

Until next time!

Diana

Hello!

Our riverside cafe

It’s hard to believe our time here is nearing it’s end. Luckily, we have many more things to do before we head home at the end of this week. I’m taking in as much as I can these next few days!

Yesterday was a really beautiful day here in Geneva. Unfortunately, for much of our time, it’s been cool and rainy. (Not the best weather for all the walking we’ve done!) We haven’t let that deter us much, though! When the sun does shine, it is gorgeous here! Such clear skies, nice breezes, and you can get some really good views of the alps. 

On Monday, our schedule was pretty light - we met with our groups to finish up the presentations we’re doing later this week and then headed to the International AIDS Society (IAS) in the afternoon to meet again with Dr. Manoj Kurian. He is a very interesting person who has done a lot of global public health work. The IAS serves as an organizing body for global public health professionals who work among populations affected by HIV/AIDS. We had an interesting discussion with Dr. Kurian about how HIV/AIDS is addressed and managed across the globe and how social stigmas can impact how diseases are managed. I think we can easily say that we’ve each learned some new perspectives about global public health!

Red Cross/Red Crescent

Following our time at the IAS, we were free for the remainder of the day to enjoy the wonderful weather. During our time here, we’ve discovered a small outdoor coffee stand along the Rhone river near our dorm. There are tables and lounge chairs set out right along the river, so a few of us got some coffee (cafe au lait!) and just sat. It was so nice and relaxing! Being Memorial Day, it seemed appropriate! :) (I will say, though, that I did miss being home and enjoying a good American barbecue!)

In the evening, we went to dinner as a group - one of our fellow group members was celebrating a birthday, so we all made our way to a good restaurant we discovered earlier in our trip that serves some tasty pasta.

Today, our day began with a trip to the International Red Cross/Red Crescent museum. I really enjoyed today! The museum does an excellent job highlighting the work for the Red Cross across the world in addressing some of the most significant humanitarian crises. The museum includes interactive exhibits that lets you hear directly from survivors of numerous social, political, and environmental persecutions. It also includes exhibits of art work crafted by individuals during exile and imprisonment, descriptions of how the work of the Red Cross has evolved, as well as describing key missions of the organization. I felt inspired to volunteer with my own local Red Cross after I get back!

After the museum, we returned to the dorm for a short break before heading out again to visit Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) (Doctors Without Borders). This was probably another favorite of mine from this trip. We had the opportunity to hear from a nurse who works with MSF by going into areas of conflict, unrest, and environmental tragedy to deliver clinical care to the injured and sick. To hear their approach - to deliver clinical care, regardless of position in society, allegiance, and circumstances, in times of humanitarian crisis - was really inspiring to me. (http://www.msf.org/). To me, this is a vital component of global public health.

We’ve spent the remainder of our day putting the finishing touches on our presentations. It’ll also be early to bed for us, because we head to Paris tomorrow!  We are leaving here shortly after 6 am and will take a train for about 3 hours to get there. I can’t wait! I will definitely share an update about our time there :)

Au revoir!

Diana

Statues outside the Red Cross museum
Signify individuals impacted by global humanitarian crises - they are depicted as bound, not seeing, speaking, or hearing

Today was one of the coolest days I’ve ever had in my life!  

I mentioned yesterday that we were traveling to Chamonix, France today to visit the alps - specifically, to see Mont Blanc! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Blanc). I was really excited for this part of the trip and it was absolutely incredible. 

We began the day around 9 am and hopped on a bus that took us from Geneva into Chamonix. Crossing into France from Geneva isn’t a long drive at all - only around 25 minutes or so. (During our time here, we’ve heard from several people that very often, people who work in Geneva will live in France and commute in because the cost of living is so much lower). We arrived in Chamonix around 11 am and it is a beautiful little town (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamonix). It was home to the very first Winter Olympics in 1924 and we spotted several skiers preparing to ski their way down the mountains.

View from the top!

After settling into the town, we set out to catch cable cars up Aiguille du Midi, a peak within the mountain chain where you are able to travel over 12,600 feet up to catch an amazing view of Mont Blanc. Words really can’t describe what this was like. We climbed into the cable car, which held around 25 people and began our ascent. Going up that high is pretty intense! As you travel up the mountain, you see far and wide and it is probably one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. As we travelled up, more snow progressively began to pile up. We even passed through a cloud on our way up!

Chamonix, France

You have to take 2 cable cars to reach the highest point where you’re able to view Mont Blanc. In all, it probably took about 30 or more minutes to get to the top. When you get off the cable car, you’re able to climb some stairs to an open-air observation platform. I’ve added some pictures to truly give the view justice. It really was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen!

It was slightly overcast down on the ground, but up that high, the sky was a really brilliant blue and you’re just surrounded by snowy peaks. Being up that high, you also felt the pressure of the altitude in your chest - breathing was a little more constricted and it was much easier to gulp in fresh air once we were back on the ground! 

After spending about 2 hours at the top, we made our way back down. As you’re descending, you notice patches of hikers and skiers at various points on the mountain. We even shared a cable car with several people toting their ski gear. I can’t even imagine what that would be like!

When we reached the bottom, we explored Chamonix and had some lunch - more fondue and blueberry crepes. It was really delicious :) As we explored Chamonix, we also saw a glacial lake at one end of the town. Also a beautiful sight! I can’t express that enough - I would definitely travel back to this area some day and would encourage it to anyone else!

This entire trip has been wonderful - I have had the opportunity to see, do, and learn so much in just a short period of time. I’ve appreciated the time so much!

Tomorrow, we have free time in Geneva to spend, along with working in our groups on our final presentation to be delivered on Thursday. We are also visiting the International AIDS Society as well. Our work continues on! 

Hello!

It’s nearly bedtime in Geneva, but I wanted to write a quick post to update you on what we’ve been doing the past few days!

Since I wrote last, we spent our last day at the World Health Assembly (Friday). While the assembly officially extends until May 28th, the sessions of interest that were open to non-delegates were completed on Friday. Before heading over to the UN for our last sessions, we spent the morning at the World Council of Churches, an interfaith organization that seeks to promote social equity among communities across the globe. We had the opportunity to hear from Dr. Fulata Moyo, the director of the “Women in Church and Society” program. She spoke quite a bit about her experiences growing up in Malawi and her work throughout the globe - some additional perspectives on how a society is organized can impact both physical and social health. 

Following our time at the WCC, we walked back down to the UN for the last time. This was sad to think! After spending so much time there this week and looking back on the huge amounts of information we’ve learned, it was like a home away from home. I enjoyed our time there so much. It really changed my perspective on how the World Health Organization works and about the global health challenges we are confronted with.

The session we went to Friday afternoon was called “Physical Activity, Sport, and Health” and was organized by the delegations of Costa Rica and Qatar, in partnership with the “Group of Friends on Sport for Development and Peace.” This was a fun session to attend to round out the week. The focus was on increasing levels of physical activity in communities across the globe, among children in particular. On the panel, we got to hear from the first gold Olympic medalist from Costa Rica (Sylvia Poll), a runner from Eritrea who completed a marathon with a 2:07 time, as well as a female triathlete who has won numerous competitions in her sport. It was really interesting to hear their perspectives on how they became involved with sports and how physical activity can be more effectively promoted among children. Included in the presentation was a live Judo demonstration provided by a local group from within Geneva. Included in the group were an 11 year old boy and girl who showed us some of their moves. It was really fun and interesting!

Following the sessions, a few of us were in some need of coffee, so we enjoyed our free afternoon strolling the streets of Geneva and enjoying a sparking, sunshiney afternoon. Unfortunately, the weather has been cool and overcast for most of our time here. It was great to soak up the sun and it really highlighted how beautiful of a city Geneva is! 

We found our way into a Starbucks (nothing like a small piece of home!) and while we were sitting, we got to talking with a gentleman sitting next to us. As we spoke, we came to learn he is the former deputy-mayor of Vancouver. It was really interesting getting to talk with him about his work in the field of emergency/disaster preparedness (right up our alley as public health students!) You never know who you’ll meet around here!

Annecy

We spent the rest of the evening enjoying a great dinner of falafel wraps, hummus, tabbouleh, and shwarma from a Lebanese restaurant right down the street. It was some of the best food we’ve had in Geneva - we already have plans to go back :) Our dinners have been a lot of fun - a small group of us have been getting together and we’ve had some great conversations!

Today, we took a bus ride into Annecy, France. Originally, we were going to travel to Nyon. Of the two cities, Annecy was considered a more historical and interesting option. And it did not disappoint!! The ride into France was only about an hour and a half. It was a really beautiful drive! The trip into France from Switzerland gives you an incredible view of the alps, along with miles and miles of rolling, hilly countryside. We passed through several small towns along the way, complete with quaint homes, pastures, and shops. It was really nice. 

While the weather didn’t cooperate fully with us (rain and low 40-degree weather - it snowed at one point!), Annecy was a really spectacular city to spend the day in. Here’s some information about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annecy. Being there, you really get the feeling of a medieval European town. Such great, old buildings and a really breathtaking view of the mountains. A river runs through the city, so as you’re walking through, the river passes in between the buildings on cobblestone streets. There were so many shops to walk through and historical buildings to check out. I loved it - and I’d love to travel back someday!  A funny thing that happened at lunch was when we requested mustard to go with some hamburgers we ordered (not very European, I know :) ). We couldn’t quite translate the word mustard and they weren’t sure what we were requesting. After we cleared things up, they brought us an enormous container of dijon mustard. It was really spicy, but so good! Not your average Grey Poupon :)

"Moutard", as the French say

Tomorrow, we are off to Chamonix, France to see the alps! It’s going to be another chilly one, but I am so looking forward to it!

Greetings from Geneva!

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday - the week caught up with me and I just couldn’t keep my eyes open!  This has been quite the experience and the amount of information we’ve been receiving each day is amazing. 

Inside the World Health Organization

Yesterday, our day began with a trip to the World Health Organization. Other than seeing the outside during our scavenger hunt, we hadn’t had the opportunity to go inside until Wednesday. Our other days this week have been held strictly at the UN, where the World Health Assembly meets. At the WHO, we had appointments to meet with Susan Wilburn, a Kent State University nursing graduate who has worked for the WHO for the past 10 years, in addition to two other members of the WHO staff whom she works with on environmental health projects. We also had the opportunity to hear form Dr. Vinayak Prassad, director of the WHO’s global tobacco free initiative. 

It was extremely interesting to hear from each of these four speakers about the work they do for global health. Through the course of our time there, we learned about “greening” the hospital system (evaluating healthcare practices to reduce their environmental impact), the impact of climate change on health, research on the radiation threats posed by Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant following the March 2011 tsunami, as well as the WHO’s work to combat global tobacco use. We also learned more about the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (chronic diseases) worldwide. Being inside the WHO was a public health dream! There is so much work to be done and the WHO often works at the front line to address global health challenges.

In addition to our time at the WHO, we had the opportunity to go back to the UN to attend more sessions of the World Health Assembly. (Geographically, both are located within walking distance to each other.) A few of us stopped over for a session called “Launch of the WHO Global Alliance for the Care of the Injured” sponsored by delegates from Romania, Brazil, Thailand, Mozambique, and the WHO Secretariat. This particular session was interesting because more information was provided about a recently established alliance by the WHO that seeks to address both intentional and unintentional injuries among its member-states. This particular session was attended by several physicians from the U.S., including surgeons, who often work with patients with traumatic injuries. We take for granted, I think, our emergency response system in the U.S. It became clear that such immediate responses in the face of injury may not be accessible elsewhere in the world. 

We ended our day at the WHA a little earlier than we typically do, so we took our free time and enjoyed the city. A few of us did some shopping and had some dinner (in true European fashion, where we spent a couple of hours just enjoying the food and talking!) Because I’ve truly felt immersed in the WHA activities, it was nice to get out and enjoy such a great city!

Today, we were up and at ‘em again for a 9 am committee session called “Promoting Health through the Life Course.” I am really enjoying the committee sessions - this is when you have the opportunity to hear delegates address the WHO. In this committee, delegates were discussing their progress on meeting the health-related Millennium Development Goals (more information here: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/). I got the impression that many countries are working hard to address these problems, but progress is not especially easy. A lot of discussion has centered around the “post 2015 agenda” - if we don’t meet the 2015 goals that were set, where do we go from there? 

We took a break for lunch and then were back in a 12:30 pm session called “WHO EVIPNet Technical Support in Evidence-Informed Policy-Making in Member States,” organized by the delegation from Burkina Faso and the WHO Secretariet. Evidence-based policy is a huge focus within public health. Basically, it’s making sure the programs and policies you make to address health have been shown, by evidence, to actually improve the quality of life someone experiences. This session talked a lot about how evidence can be gathered from settings across the globe to ensure only those programs that can be successful are considered. This session was of particular interest to me.

Our trusty tram stop - where we begin the day!

After this session, we took a break and traveled back to the dorm. We spent a little more time strolling through the city with just enough time to make it back to the UN for an evening session. This was a fun one sponsored by the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA). IFMSA has been quite active in the WHA this year - it is a group comprised of medical students and others from across the globe and they are attending the WHA to advocate for a stronger youth voice in the WHO’s activities. This session was the first youth-led and developed session for the WHA. The title was “Health of the World’s Girls (from five years of age through adolescence).” What was particularly interesting about this panel was their use of social media - they broadcasted the session over YouTube and also had a live Twitter feed with comments about the session that we could watch. 

After we closed the day at the UN, we traveled back to the dorm. We met in our large group to discuss what we’ve been learning the past few days and to debrief. Included in our time here is a group project that we will be working on. We are each divided into groups of 4 -5 and we have been tasked with choosing a global health topic to present on. Our small group will be working on global pandemics, specifically, H7N9.

And now it’s time to call it a day!  I hope you’re enjoying reading about this experience - in some ways, I think I will come home with more questions than answers (which is a good thing!) There is so much work to be done.

As I said though, this trip isn’t all work and no play! We have two lovely trips planned for this weekend. On Saturday, we will be traveling to Annecy, France (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annecy) which we have heard such great things about! And on Sunday, we will be headed to Chamonix, France (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamonix) to see the alps - I am VERY excited to see that :) I will be sure to let you know how it is!

It was another action packed day here in Geneva, Switzerland!

We were up and ready to go this morning for the first session of the morning at the WHA. The title of this morning’s panel was “Addressing Violence Against Women: Health Impacts and Role of the Health Sector” and was organized by the delegations of Belgium, India, the United States, Zambia, Mexico, Norway, and the Netherlands. 

Included as a speaker on the panel was Kathleen Sebelius (U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services), in addition to the Commissioner for Social Affairs of the African Union (Dr. Mustapha S. Kaloko), the Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India (Dr. Keshav Desiraju), the Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health of Belgium (Laurette Onkelinx), the Secretary of Health of Mexico (Dr. Mercedes Juan Lopez), the Minister of Health of Zambia (Dr. Joseph Kasonde) and the Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of Norway (Lilianne Ploumen). Within this session, we learned about the status of women in these regions of the world and efforts that have been made at the policy-level to prevent violence against women and girls, and efforts to provide care to victims of violence. 

From the U.S. perspective, Secretary Sebelius described the “Violence Against Women” Act that was passed by Congress in 1994 and resigned by President Obama in 2010. This policy protects women as victims of violence and also reinforces community-level efforts to provide care and prevention programs. To hear the perspectives of delegates from these diverse regions of the world about an important issue like this was particularly interesting. The consensus among the delegates on the panel was that more needs to be done to protect women and girls from acts of violence, social norms need to be changed in many regions of the world as a prevention mechanism, education is a key step to prevent violence, and the passage and support of global policies should be a key priority. Following this session, several of us had the opportunity to meet Secretary Sebelius, introduce ourselves, shake her hand, and snap a picture with her, which was a great experience.

For the afternoon, several of us attended a workshop called “Antibiotic Resistance - A Threat to Global Health Security,” which was organized by the delegates from Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and Sweden. This session, which was delivered to a packed house (all chairs filled with others standing along the perimeter of the room and in the doorway). The panel described the increasing threat of antibiotic resistant microbes that are beginning to emerge due to the misuse of antibiotics in both humans and animals....one of those topics that could keep you up at night! We unfortunately had to duck out early from this session to grab seats for the series of keynote speakers that addressed the assembly that afternoon.

Each year, the World Health Assembly has an invited speaker, who is not named until the day they speak. This year, we had the opportunity to hear from Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma (Chair of the African Union Commission), Gunilla Carlsson (Minister for the International Development Cooperation - Sweden), and Dr. Jim Yong Kim (President of the World Bank). Among the topics they discussed were the role of women in society, as well as progress toward reaching the Millennium Development Goals, set to expire in 2015. 

WHA budget committee hearing

Following this, a few of us sat in on a budget committee meeting, where we had the opportunity to hear the delegates discuss the WHO budget. This was really fascinating to see. We heard delegates from India, Indonesia, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Oman, Germany, Nigeria, and the U.S. address the committee and offer comments on the status of the WHO budget. 

Finally, our day ended with a final evening session on the March 2013 H7N9 (“bird flu”) outbreak in China. This was probably the most interesting session I’ve attended thus far. The session was sponsored by the Chinese delegation, along with the WHO. The session offered public comments by the Chinese delegation about the status of H7N9 that were then reported by journalists from across the world. Here’s a link to a Reuters article I found on “Yahoo! News” 2 hours after the session had ended!: http://news.yahoo.com/h7n9-bird-flu-outbreak-costs-more-6-5-175625330.html. 

H7N9 session

In the session, information was provided on how the outbreak occurred, the current status, and the response from the Chinese government. It was noted that the virus is not currently transmitted from person to person (only bird to person) and that significant efforts have been made within China to continue reporting to the WHO, to monitor the progress of individuals who have contracted the illness, and to ensure additional cases are not discovered. It was extremely interesting to be present to hear this news reported and to think about what this means for global health!

By the end of our (13 hour!) day at the UN, we were all pretty tired! But excited about what we had learned. Numerous sessions are held at any given time, so other students in our group go to see and hear other really interesting things. It is amazing the kind of information we’re picking up on any given day! It has been so interesting to see how the WHO works, how the assembly fits into WHO policies, and to observe the interactions of delegates from around the world. It is an extremely diverse environment that we are all learning a lot from.

From a logistics perspective, each of the sessions are primarily delivered in English. Translations are available, however, in real time. At each seat in each of the rooms are a small head phone that hooks over your ear. You can change channels to get the speaker’s translation in your own language. It’s very cool!

Tomorrow, we travel to the World Health Organization to meet Susan Wilburn, a Kent State University College of Nursing graduate who currently works for the WHO. During our time with her, we will get to learn about the work she does, in addition to more global public health information! We will also meet with representatives from the American Nurses Association, as well as the director of the WHO’s “Tobacco Free Initiative.” 

More tomorrow! :)

Diana

From inside the UN, looking out!

Hi everyone!

I’m writing this at the end of a pretty incredible day!  There’s a lot to tell!

As I mentioned yesterday, today was the first official day of the World Health Assembly. We’ve basically spent all of today at the UN (where the assembly is held), attending sessions and listening to speakers from all over the world discuss leading public health issues. As you can imagine, it was a very interesting day!

We started out with the visit from Dr. Manoj Kurian from the International AIDS Society. He stopped by our dorm to sit with us and discuss not only the World Health Organization and the work they do, but also some of the very distinct challenges that face regions across the globe in terms of public health. He offered some points of discussion about governments across the world and whether or not they do an adequate job of prioritizing health for their citizens. He also discussed social determinants of health and how so often, an individual’s health is impacted by the social structures they are born into and live within. He shared with us some challenges in adequately addressing global public health issues, as well as the importance of ensuring access to care for all as a means to combat some leading global health concerns. 

Dr. Kurian also described the World Health Assembly and encouraged us to make the most of our time in the sessions to listen to, learn from, and network with the individuals we will encounter throughout this week. From his discussion with us, its clear  that there is quite a bit of work to be done both within the U.S. and beyond to improve the health and well being of individuals. We also learned that an emerging focus of the World Health Organization is noncommunicable diseases (NCDs, also known as chronic diseases), such as heart disease and diabetes. Increasingly, regions across the world are affected by what were traditionally diseases only found in westernized countries. Because the way we live has changed dramatically, more cases can be found across the world. Through the sessions we attend at the World Health Assembly, it was clear that addressing NCDs is a priority.

From here, we made our way to the UN for the assembly. Walking into the UN was very cool - there were people from so many different parts of the world. You definitely got a sense of excitement about the assembly. We had the opportunity to walk around the UN for a bit and get a sense of where the sessions would be held. The UN itself is an interesting building - there was a really pretty courtyard in the middle and through the window, you could get a really nice view of the city with the alps in the background.

We had some lunch in the UN cafeteria and then had the chance to sit in on any of the sessions that peaked our interest. A group of us attended a session organized by delegates from the Netherlands, Singapore, and Canada called “Public-Private Partnerships for Addressing NCDs: Food Labeling and Other Innovative Instruments for Involving the Private Sector and Making Healthy Choices Easier.” Sounds like a mouthful (pardon the pun :) ) but the focus of the session was involving both the public health system and food retailers in promoting healthier eating through food labeling that assists consumers in buying healthier food and choosing healthy options. A delegate from the Netherlands presented on the “Healthy Choices” program, which uses food labeling to successfully promote decreased consumption of saturated fats, trans fats, and sugars. One of the main messages in the presentation was that promoting healthy eating should involve not only the public health system, but also the private sector - which includes businesses where food is sold and the food industry in general. They spoke a lot about the importance of collaborating along all of these lines to ensure people have access to healthy foods. Here’s a link to the Choices program: http://www.choicesprogramme.org/

Dr. Margaret Chan addressing the assembly

Following this session, we attended the address provided by WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan. This was especially interesting to see. The address was given in a large assembly room where all of the delegates gathered. Among the delegates we could see from our seats overlooking the assembly was U.S. Director of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. We could also see representatives from countless other countries, which was really interesting.

Delegates in the assembly room

In her address, Dr. Chan spoke about some recent successes of the WHO and the continued work that’s needed. She mentioned emerging threats such as the H7N9 virus (“bird flu”) and the importance of reporting cases and preparedness across the globe, efforts in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/), the prevention and control of diarrhea and pneumonia to protect childhood health, the use of anti-retroviral therapy to treat HIV/AIDS, the continued need for “research, evidence, and information” in forming strong global health policies, prevention as the cornerstone in addressing the prevalence of NCDs across the globe, the need for equity in access to health care, the importance of innovation in health, and the need for a trained health care workforce to deliver the care that is vital for public health. She was a very good speaker and her passion for her work was very evident in how she addressed the assembly.

After Dr. Chan’s address, we dispersed again and a group of us visited numerous vendors with lots of different information about WHO and other organizations’ efforts to address nearly every global health issue you can imagine. I had the opportunity to speak with people about maternal/child health, global health systems, cancer research, building the capacity to conduct research in the developing world, and preventing violence against women in global settings. I’m hoping to make it to more vendors when we return tomorrow!

After this, we attended a session called “Promoting Global Mental Health: The Role of the Public, Private, and Non-Profit Sectors,” which was organized by the delegation from Canada. Included speakers on the panel were the ministers of health from Ethiopia and Canada, the CEO and president of the Catholic Hospital Association (Sister Carol Keehan), the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Health and Aging in Australia, the Chief of Disease Prevention and Control from the Ministry of Health in Chile, and the  chair of a mental health nonprofit in Canada. This panel was particularly interesting - it was a chance to learn more about global health needs related to mental health and successful initiatives in the U.S., Canada, Ethiopia, and Australia to promote mental health well being and to ensure individuals have access to mental health care. During the session, Dr. Chan slipped into the room and said a few words about the importance of global mental health promotion, which was really cool!

After a long, productive, and interesting day, we made our way back to the dorm. We’re gearing up for another day at the World Health Assembly tomorrow! We are especially curious to see who the invited speaker is - this typically isn’t shared until the day of the speech. I will let you know! :)

Until next time,

Diana