Recent Updates

What can the Ebola response in West Africa teach us about mental health, trust, and outbreak preparedness today?

We warmly invite you to our upcoming webinar "Ebola and Mental Health: Lessons from the CDC Response in West Africa, 2014-2015" on July 15, 13:00-14:00 CEST. 

Drawing on the 2014–2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa and its rapid escalation, this webinar will explore why mental health and psychosocial support must be considered an essential part of outbreak response. The session will connect past lessons to current challenges, including the ongoing Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

We are delighted to welcome Dr. Anna Grigoryan as our keynote speaker. Based on her personal experience and deployment to Sierra Leone in 2015 as part of the CDC Ebola Response Mission, Dr. Grigoryan will share reflections on key response activities, communication challenges, and the intersection of Ebola response and mental health. The webinar will highlight why coordinated, international, and rapidly scaled-up responses are essential to reduce illness, deaths, fear, and psychosocial distress during outbreaks.

Agenda
13:00–13:30 Keynote by Dr. Anna Grigoryan
13:30–13:50 Q&A session
13:50–14:00 Wrap-up

About the speaker
Dr. Anna Grigoryan is a physician–scientist with over 20 years of international experience leading complex public health projects, fostering innovation, and building strategic partnerships. She spearheaded the WHO–CDC Collaborating Center for Global Public Health Informatics, serving as its first Program Manager. During her tenure at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), she contributed directly to emergency responses to major crises, including the Haiti and China earthquakes, the avian influenza outbreak, and the Fukushima nuclear accident.

In 2015, Dr. Grigoryan supported the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health during the Ebola epidemic as part of the CDC Ebola Response Mission. In her more recent role at the UN/IAEA, she managed a portfolio of projects focused on laboratory strengthening, cancer control, and emergency preparedness, supporting Member States across Africa. She has also mentored emerging leaders and promoted cultures of accountability and inclusion during periods of organizational transition.

This webinar is intended for public health and mental health professionals, as well as everyone interested in Ebola response, outbreak control, pandemic preparedness, and mental health and psychosocial support.

Please note:
The webinar will be recorded. If you do not wish to appear in the recording, you are welcome to keep your camera turned off.

We look forward to your participation and to an engaging discussion on the role of mental health in outbreak response.

For further details, please contact:

Katrin Würfel and Nadja Moser or the Hub Management Team at info@globalhealthhub.de

Dear Global Health & Migration Community Members (GHHG),

Please save the date for our regular community meeting on May 20, from 15:00 to 16:00 (Berlin time).

The meeting will take place via BigBlueButton: https://webinare.e-collaboration.eu/b/rooms/quy-4tp-alp-s0p/join

PW: nw6jwp 

Agenda: Details TBC

Warm regards,

Sonu, Henna & Zahra

for the Global Health and Migration Community, Global Health Hub Germany

The event calendar for 2026: 

AMR Cost in Germany – a modeling-based discussion on the economic impact of antimicrobial resistance. While data availability is limited in Germany, this session will provide valuable insights and implications of the costs of AMR in Germany.

Speaker:

Christian Willy, MD, PhD, is a Colonel and Professor of Surgery specializing in trauma, orthopedic, and reconstructive surgery in Berlin.

He served as Clinical Director at the Military Academic Hospital Berlin and leads the Research and Treatment Center for Complex Combat Injuries.

His scientific work focuses on wound healing, antiseptic concepts, and phage therapy, where he is actively involved.

With extensive international experience through fellowships and military deployments in regions such as Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Djibouti, he brings a global perspective to his practice and research.

________________________________________________________________________________

Microsoft Teams Benötigen Sie Hilfe?

Jetzt an der Besprechung teilnehmen

Besprechungs-ID: 250 360 879 235 02

Passcode: vz3t8be3

Phage Therapy – exploring innovative approaches and current developments & challenges in this promising field.

Speaker:

Christian Willy, MD, PhD, is a Colonel and Professor of Surgery specializing in trauma, orthopedic, and reconstructive surgery in Berlin.

He served as Clinical Director at the Military Academic Hospital Berlin and leads the Research and Treatment Center for Complex Combat Injuries.

His scientific work focuses on wound healing, antiseptic concepts, and phage therapy, where he is actively involved.

With extensive international experience through fellowships and military deployments in regions such as Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Djibouti, he brings a global perspective to his practice and research.

Microsoft Teams Benötigen Sie Hilfe?

Jetzt an der Besprechung teilnehmen

Besprechungs-ID: 244 663 585 323 46

Passcode: XY2Jn36F

Dear Climate Change and Health Community,

We cordially invite you to our first community meeting of 2026 on 22 January at 1 p.m.

We will host the presentation of the Special Focus Issue GAIA 35/4 (2025) “Planetary Health and social-ecological research in the Anthropocene”, which is available on:  https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/oekom/gaia/2025/00000034/00000004

Planetary Health, One Health, and Social Ecology converge yet differ in linking human wellbeing with ecological systems. Particularly Planetary Health includes an intrinsic political dimension to enable a societal transformation of human civilisation. The Special Focus highlights critical reflections on theory, methods and applications of Planetary Health.

Please register under:  https://fau.zoom-x.de/meeting/register/5XHfm-QeRKO0wlcvLWxOqg As always, after registration you will receive a confirmation E-mail.

We are looking forward to seeing you.

Jennyfer, Donald, Klaus and the Hub Management Team 

Dear Hub Members,

Join us on  for a critical discussion on global health strategies centered around migrants and refugees. The last annual community theme of Global Health in Conflict Settings (2024/2025) was hosted by the Global Health and Migration Hub Community of Practice. Along this community annual theme, a Policy Brief, titled 'Strengthening Global Health in Conflict Settings: Strategic Insights for Germany and the European Union' and a table top simulation exercise were developed and we would like to present them during this event. 

Agenda:
15:00-15:05 Welcome
15:05-15:15 Keynote by Dr Saverio Bellizzi, WHO
15:15-16:00 GHHG Simulation Exercise 'Critical Choices - Global Health in Crisis'
16:00-16:30 Open Discussion (Q&A)

We are delighted to welcome Dr Saverio Bellizzi as our keynote speaker.
Dr Saverio Bellizzi is an Italian physician, public health expert, and researcher specialising in global health, humanitarian emergencies, and migration health. He has worked with several international organisations, including MSF and ICRC, and currently with the World Health Organization (WHO), in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. His professional focus includes maternal and child health, infectious disease control, and health systems strengthening in crisis and post-crisis settings. Dr Bellizzi has also contributed to numerous peer reviewed publications on public health and epidemiology and continues to support global initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes among vulnerable populations, particularily refugees and migrants. 

Please note:
Register for this event via the link below. The first hour of this webinar will be recorded until the end of the GHHG SimEx. If you do not wish to appear in the recording, you can turn off your camera.

We look forward to your valuable contributions to this important discussion.

For further details, please contact:

Katrin Würfel and Linda Blessin or the Hub Management Team at info@globalhealthhub.de

The Climate Change and Health Community invites everyone to their finaly Community Meeting of the year 2025! 🌍

As a Guest Speaker, Marek Szilvasi will share first-hand insights into the COP30 health outcomes and discuss their implications for the health sector. You find the abstract of his presentation and his short bio below.

If you would like to join the online meeting via Zoom, please registere here: Meeting-Registrierung - Zoom

We look forward to seeing you there and closing the year with an inspiring discussion. 🌡️🌱

Klaus, Donald, Jennyfer and the Hub Management Team 🤝🌐

Abstract

The health impacts of climate change are increasingly tangible. The newly released 2025 Lancet Countdown on Climate and Health—the largest analysis of its kind - indicates that millions of people die each year as a result of insufficient climate action. Every country is now starting to experience some combination of extreme heat, water scarcity, food insecurity, and changing patterns of infectious disease. Despite mounting scientific evidence, adaptation efforts remain fragmented, incremental, and mostly reactive. The decision to operationalize the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) - established by the Paris Agreement under the United Nation Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) - at COP28 in 2023 was therefore a landmark achievement, introducing a structured framework to measure collective progress across 7 thematic and 4 cross-cutting dimensions. Yet significant challenges persist—including in the climate and health thematic target. At COP30, parties are expected to adopt this critical framework, including  a robust, comprehensible, and equitable set of indicators, to institutionalise climate and health nexus under the UNFCCC and ensure that climate policy is grounded in public health and health equity. This talk will provide an initial reflection and analysis of the COP30 outcomes in developing a critical framework for climate and health synergies under the GGA.

Short Resume

Dr Marek Szilvasi is a climate impacts and adaptation, public health and health equity expert. Currently, he has served as a mandated UNFCCC expert developing climate-health nexus indicators under the Global Goal on Adaptation, and Director of Programmes of the Slycan Trust. He previously held a senior management role at the Open Society Foundations (OSF) leading climate resilience, health equity and environmental determinants of health programming and portfolios. As an advisor, he has supported private philanthropies and international organizations in enhancing impact, aligning climate and health strategies, and advancing equity and transparency in their strategies and programming.