The World Federation of Paediatric Intensive and Critical Care Society is introducing its Awareness Week, a global initiative where colleagues caring for critically ill children share their experiences and innovations in a modest and collaborative spirit. This event highlights the impact of climate change, epidemics, and socio-economic challenges on child health and clinical care. Through a series of podcasts and webinars, clinical teams and health workers from various regions will discuss their working environments and problem-solving strategies while outlining their expectations from global partnerships. For example, teams from Sub-Saharan Africa will explore how Madagascar’s increasing tropical storms disrupt healthcare infrastructure, agriculture, and even alter the epidemiology of infectious diseases such as malaria and dengue, further exacerbating food insecurity and malnutrition risks. In eastern DRC’s South Kivu, health workers will focus on the compounded challenges posed by a fragile health system, MPOX epidemics, conflict, and the needs of displaced populations. Moreover, all teams will describe how climate change adaptation measures—such as energy-efficient facility designs and the use of renewable energy (e.g., solar energy) to ensure decentralized oxygen provision, power essential biomedical equipment, and maintain cold chains for vaccinations—can not only reduce carbon emissions and other environmental impacts of health systems but also substantially improve access to essential health care services for vulnerable populations. Our colleagues will also emphasize the responsibility of industrialized countries to support climate change adaptation measures in regions that have historically contributed minimally to global CO₂ emissions.

Topic: From expressed commitments to implementation: Comparing government policy efforts on health and social policies.

Registration: https://uni-bonn.zoom-x.de/meeting/register/QMvcQgBNTsebN7tsHQJh4g

The Series directs special attention towards the added value of interdisciplinary and international cooperation in global health research. Every first Tuesday of the month, speakers share insights into their research projects while focusing on research processes, methods as well as lessons learned. Following the 30-minute speaker’s presentation, the Series encourages an academic exchange between the speaker and the audience in a 30-minute Q&A session.

Merike Blofield is Professor of Political Science at the University of Hamburg, with a focus on global health and social policy. Her collaborative work has recently been published by Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, The Lancet, and policy venues. She is currently working on child and maternal health & social policies and on policy efforts on violence against women and children. Before she moved to Hamburg in 2020, she was Professor of Political Science and Director of Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Miami. She has received awards for both her research and institution-building at previous institutions. In this presentation, she will discuss how governments are moving from stated commitments to actual implementation in health and social policy, drawing on evidence from different policy initiatives.

This session will count towards the GLOHRA Training Certificate and is open to all interested in global health research and policy. Please register in advance and feel free to share the event within your networks!

German Alliance for Global Health Research (GLOHRA)
Secretariat c/o Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
e: secretariat@globalhealth.de