Health Within and Beyond Welsh Borders August 2017
Migrant and Refugee Health More on Page 4
Welcome Welcome to the August e-bulletin.
issue of the IHCC European and international
This month’s issue will provide you with information on Migrant and Refugee Health and Welsh activity within and beyond Welsh borders, in addition to opportunities. Follow the IHCC on Twitter for regular updates #IHCCWales and on the IHCC website.
Contents In Focus - Beyond Wales 4 In Focus - Within Wales 8 Opportunities 14
The IHCC has a new website!
Our E-bulletin is making space for this new resource, the best place to stay updated on a range of topics related to work within and beyond borders, such as:
Resources
News
Funding
Events
Working Internationally If you would like to find out more about Welsh, UK, European, or International organisations involved or supporting international work, please visit the Services section. Would you like to promote your international work? Go to Get Involved and find out how to submit a project, an event or a news item to the
IHCC website.
Continue reading to find out what’s ‘In Focus Beyond and Within Wales’
InBeyond Focus Wales
Migrant and Refugee Health in Europe An unprecedented number of refugees have reached Europe in recent years, bringing with them challenges and opportunities for Europe’s healthcare systems. Although migrant and refugee health-related issues appear to be similar to those of other population groups, migrants and refugees face increased exposure to health risks associated with population movement. Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, World Health Organization Regional Director for Europe (WHO EURO), said: “The social determinants of health, such as education, employment, social security and housing, all have a considerable impact on the health of migrants.” Responding quickly and efficiently to their health needs is essential. To read the full statement on population movement by Dr Jakab, please visit the WHO EURO website. For information on key issues relating to refugee and migrant health, please visit the WHO EURO website and the Knowledge Hub on Refugee and Migrant Health. Keywords: migrants, WHO European Region, global/ international
Tackling Health Inequalities: A Call for Action EuroHealthNet and its partners, including Public Health Wales, have unanimously agreed on a “call and commitment� for action on developing sustainable and equitable health and well-being, to help achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals to help contribute to and achieve the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Goals through modern health promotion approaches. The call urges policy makers, practitioners, and researchers to work in partnership to tackle health, economic, social, and environmental priorities and inequalities and is based on the 2016 EuroHealthNet REJUVENATE Statement and Framework. For more information, please visit the EuroHealthNet website. Keywords: sustainable environment
development,
global/
international,
policy,
World Environment Day 2017 The central theme running through World Environment Day on the 5th June 2017 was ‘Connecting People to Nature’. Its aim was to raise awareness that protecting the earth is vital and that health is inherently linked to the environment. Its special focus this year was on air and water pollution, hazardous chemicals, waste management and climate change. These factors not only harm the environment but also lead to serious health problems whereas interventions to protect and preserve the environment can directly improve health. The annual celebrations aim to raise awareness of the link between the environment and population health and create a political momentum to drive positive change. On 13th-15th June 2017, the Ministers and representatives of the World Health Organization European Region responsible for health and environment came together at the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in Ostrava, Czech Republic to shape future common actions to decrease the burden of diseases caused by environmental factors for current and future generations and to promote synergies between the two sectors - key to achieving the health and well-being objectives of the United Nations’ 2020 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Declaration of the sixth ministerial conference on environment and health was signed on the 15th of June 2017. For further information, please visit the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO EURO) website and the United Nations website. To read the full WHO EURO Ostrava Declaration, please visit the WHO EURO website. Keywords: environment, global/ international, sustainable development, policy
Report by Former WHO Director General Dr Margret Chan, World Health Organization (WHO) Director General 2007-2017, has published a report entitled ‘10 years in Public Health 2007-2017’ chronicling the evolution of global public health over the decade that she served as Director-General of WHO. Reflecting on developments in public health during that period, Dr Chan’s report offers insights into some of the milestones and challenges of the past decade and aims to remind society to build a better, healthier future for the world’s people. Launching her report, Dr Chan observed that “in a world facing considerable uncertainty, international health development is a unifying – and uplifting - force for the good of humanity”. For further information and the full report, please visit the WHO website. To find out more about the priorities of the new Director General Dr Ghebreyesus, please visit the WHO website. Keywords: global/ international, World Health Organization, sustainable development, health inequalities, policy, research
InWithin Focus Wales This section borders. This related
to
highlights could take improving
recent examples of Welsh activity the form of collaborations, events and
health
and
wellbeing
and
reducing
inequalities
within other in
our work Wales.
Migrant and Refugee Health in Wales The exact number of refugees that have settled in Wales in recent years is not known but is estimated to be between 6,000 and 10,000 people. In April 2017, the National Assembly for Wales’ Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee’s published a report on refugees and asylum seekers in Wales entitled “I used to be someone. In their report, the Committee made 19 recommendations to Welsh Government, including access to high quality essential private, public and Third sector services. The Committee also endorsed the Welsh Refugee Coalition’s Seven Steps to Sanctuary, and expressed the hope that working together with Welsh Government, local authorities, third sector partners and local communities throughout Wales the Seven Steps could be achieved to Wales becoming the world’s first Nation of Sanctuary. To read the full report, please visit the National Assembly for Wales website and to find out more about Wales aiming to become the first Nation of Sanctuary, please visit the Wales Refugee Council website. The Welsh Government has published a response to the Committees report and accepted seven of the recommendations.
To view the full response, please visit the National Assembly for Wales website. Keywords: Welsh Government, migrants, humanitarian response, health care services
WHO Summer School on Refugee and Migrant Health The World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO EURO) recently ran the 1st Summer School on Refugee and Migrant Health, an intense 5-day course which was offered under the umbrella of the WHO European Knowledge Hub on Health and Migration. Lauren Ellis, International Development Division, attended the Summer School, which was organised with the support of the Ministry of Health of Italy and the regional health authorities of Sicily, in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration and the Health Initiative of the Americas at the University of California, Berkeley, United States of America; the European Commission; and the European Public Health Association. There were over 300 applications to the School and a total of 76 participants attended from a range of international agencies. The Summer School took place in Syracuse, Italy, on the 10th –14th July 2017. Syracuse was chosen as the location due to the high level of expertise the Italian authorities have in receiving migrants. The objective of the Summer School was to raise awareness and improve participants’ understanding of migrant health care needs by stimulating debate and critical thinking through workshops, discussions and presentations. For more information on the WHO Summer School, please go to the WHO EURO website. Keywords: migrants, WHO European Region, research, policy
Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 The National Assembly for Wales has passed new legislation, the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017. The new law makes, among others, provision for a national strategy on tackling obesity; about smoking in public spaces and strengthening health impact assessments in order to maximise in the development of key policies, plans and programmes. With the Act, Wales is the first nation to put health as its first priority in all public decisions. For further information and to view the full Act please visit the National Assembly for Wales website and the Welsh Government website. Keywords: public health, policy, health inequalities, Wales
Wales Africa Health Conference 2017 The Wales Africa Health Conference was held on the 18th July 2017 at the in Cardiff, jointly organised by the Wales for Africa Health Links Network, Hub Cymru Africa and the International Health Coordination Centre (IHCC) and attracted over 130 attendees. The theme of the Conference was strengthening health systems in Africa in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and learning from the experiences of British health workers in West Africa fighting the Ebola Epidemic (from December 2013 - April 2016). Conference speakers included: Cabinet Secretary for Health, Vaughan Gething, who spoke enthusiastically about Welsh Government’s Wales Africa Programme, and Professor Mark Bellis (Director of Policy, Research and International Development,Public Health Wales) who spoke about the new International Health Strategy developed by the Trust and his research interest in the health impact of violence.
Professor Bellis also gave an overview of Public Health Wales’ international research projects and collaborations and the projects being undertaken by the Policy, Research and International Development Directorate.
The Conference programme, biographies of speakers and other resources are available on the Hub Cyrmu Africa website.
Keywords:global/international, public health, sustainable development, health services
International Mental Health Conference 1000 Lives Improvement (Public Health Wales) partnered with the International Mental Health Collaborating Network (IMHCN) on the 18th and 19th July 2017 for the International Mental Health Congress, designing an agenda that explored the ‘whole person, whole life, whole systems’ approach to mental health. This event brought together experts on the Whole Life-Whole Systems approach from Wales, England and the international community. Representatives joined from Australia, Poland, Italy, Ireland, Malaysia and the USA. For further information about the conference, please visit the IHMCN website. Keywords: global/international, Public Health Wales, mental health
EuroNet MRPH Summer Meeting 2017 At the beginning of July Joanne McCarthy (Speciality Registrar, Public Health Wales) attended the European Network of Medical Residents in Public Health (EuroNet MRPH) summer meeting in Motovun, Croatia. EuroNet MRPH constitutes a network of European National associations of Public Health training programs. It is a non-profit, international, independent and non-governmental association. EuroNet MRPH aims to create a professional network in order to share information on educational programs, to facilitate exchange and to develop a body of scientific research. Currently, there are eleven member countries, with Bosnia about to join. At this year’s summer meeting sessions were held by the Cochrane Collaboration team and lectures were given on leadership in Public Health. The week also included working on research proposals about studying satisfaction of trainees in public health and reviewing experiences of LGBT+ employees in health systems across Europe. Jo McCarthy said: “We also had lots of time to network, and other EuroNet members were really interested to hear about the work Wales was doing with the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act and also very impressed by Public Health Wales’ International Health Strategy.” For more information about EuroNet and the summer meeting, please visit the EuroNet MRPH website. Keywords: global/international, public health, research, professional development
International Health Strategy for Public Health Wales – 2017-2027 Public Health Wales has adopted an International Health Strategy, the first of its kind for the organisation. The strategy, which underpins Public Health Wales’ Integrated Medium Term Plan, will support the implementation of our strategic priorities by enabling the organisation to have a stronger international impact, links and role in global health; effective cross-organisational and cross-NHS engagement; and leading expertise in investment for health, well-being and sustainable development nationally and internationally. In line with the strategy, a mapping of Public Health Wales’ international activity has been carried out, identifying international projects and partnerships. Information on these projects can be found on the IHCC Welsh International Health Partnership Database, a dynamic database showing international health work which is taking place across Wales. For further information and to view the full strategy please visit the Public Health Wales website. To search the Welsh International Health Partnership Database, please visit the IHCC website. Keywords: global/international, public health, strategy, Public Health Wales
Opportunities For general information on European funding, read the IHCC European Funding Catalogue Part 1 on Horizon 2020 and the Third Health Programme, and Part 2 or visit the IHCC Website for more information on funding opportunities.
Funding Confidence in Global Nutrition and Health Research Call Global Challenges Research Fund Keywords: research, nutrition, global/ international Deadline: 14th September 2017 Find out more on the Global Challenges Research Fund website.
Joint Global Health Trials Scheme Call The UK Department for International National Institute for Health Research Research Council (MRC), and the Wellcome Trust Keywords: international non-communicable diseases, research
health,
Deadline: 14th September 2017 Find further information on the MRC website.
Development (NIHR), the vulnerable
(DFID), the UK Medical groups,
UK Aid Connect The UK Department for International Development (DfID) Keywords: humanitarian response, health inequalities, international development, global/ international Deadline: 15th September 2017 Please visit the DfID website for further information.
Hub Cymru Africa Grants Hub Cymru Africa Deadline: 18th September 2017 Keywords: international health, Wales, funding, sustainable environment, professional development, WHO African Region
development,
Find out more about the application process, funding levels and themes on the Hub Cymru Africa website.
Global Health Research Call National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Deadline: 20th October 2017 Keywords: international health, Wales, development, environment, professional development
funding,
sustainable
For further information and to view the application guidance, please visit the NIHR website.
Other Opportunities & Expertise Public Feedback EUSurvey on the Urban Agenda – Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees European Commission Keywords: Migrants, Policy, International Development Deadline for submission: 22nd August 2017 For further information, please visit the EUSurvey website.
Call for Nominations John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award 2018 The Gairdner Foundation Keywords: global/ development
international,
research,
international
Deadline for Nomination: 1st October 2017 Visit the Gairdner Foundation website for further information.
Call for Abstracts 1st Congress on Migration, Ethnicity, Race and Health The European Public Health Association (EUPHA), Usher Institute, and the University of Edinburgh Keywords: migrants, ethnic groups, humanitarian response, health care services Deadline for submission: 6th October 2017 Please visit the Migration, Ethnicity, Race and Health Congress website for further information.
Award Advocacy Campaign Award - 2018 BOND Keywords: international development, global/ international Deadline for registration: 13th October 2017 For further information and information on how to register, please visit the BOND website.
Contact Us Email International.health@wales.nhs.uk Telephone 02920 104 459 Post International Health Coordination Centre c/o Public Health Wales Capital Quarter 2 Tyndall Way Cardiff CF10 4BZ Website www.internationalhealth.nhs.uk _
Twitter @IHCCWales