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November-December 2017 Newsletter
UCL Global Health
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November and December were busy months for global health at UCL. In late November, the UCL Lancet Commission on Migration and Health held its third set of meetings in Italy, which focused on reviewing the draft Commission report.
At our annual UCL Lancet lecture on Monday 20 November Dutch MP and former Development Minister Lilianne Ploumen inspired us with the story of how and why she set up “She Decides” to counter Trump’s reinstatement of the global gag rule.
On Monday 4 December, the first Global Health Day conference involving UCL, LSHTM, Imperial College, King’s College, Wellcome, the Medical Research Council, and the Lancet took place in the Francis Crick Institute and was a great success. We hope this will become an annual event.
During 2018 we will see the Institute of Global Health’s ten new centres solidify and further develop and I for one am looking forward to the new research, teaching and other activities that will be generated as a result.
Season's Greetings,
Professor Ibrahim Abubakar (@ProfIAbubakar)
Director, UCL Institute of Global Health
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4 December 2017
1st Global Health Day Conference
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On Monday 4 December, the first Global Health Day conference involving UCL, LSHTM, Imperial College, King’s College, Wellcome, Medical Research Council, and the Lancet took place in the Francis Crick Institute. Around 160 people made their way to the impressive Crick building in central London and feedback from participants was excellent.
The theme of the conference was innovation in global health research and the conference sought to critically examine and showcase the UK contribution to global health, with innovation in medical science, healthcare provision/interventions and technology chosen as the theme of this first conference.
As the final programme demonstrates, speakers shared their expertise on a wide range of topics including low-resource setting primary care, reducing HIV in young adults, emergency care in Africa, using big data to improve population health, and mobile disease screening apps.
It is hoped that this conference will now become an annual event.
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Seasonal flu kills more people than thought
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A study by the US CDC found that seasonal influenza kills more people globally than previously thought. The researchers calculated that between 291,000 and 646,000 people die from seasonal flu each year.
Seasonal flu is often not thought of as a serious illness, which can hamper prevention efforts. Perhaps this study will motivate both health professionals and individuals to take influenza more seriously?
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Solar powered lab-in-box for disease outbreaks in remote areas
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Two South African graduate students have developed a solar powered lab-in-a-box which can be used in remote areas to diagnose disease outbreaks.
In the past, when disease outbreaks occurred in remote areas, health professionals on the ground had to send samples away for diagnosis. Due to transportation challenges, this resulted in delays in treatment for those infected as well as delays in establishing and implementing measures to prevent further spread.
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Peter Sands is new Global Fund Executive Director
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The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has appointed former banker Mr Peter Sands as its new Executive Director.
Mr Sands, a Brit, was formerly Chief Executive of Standard Chartered Bank and is currently Chair of the World Bank’s International Working Group on Financing Pandemic Preparedness.
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