2018: The Declaration of Astana: A shift towards primary health?

204 NEW STUDENTS

67 STUDENTS FROM OVERSEAS

STUDENTS REPRESENTING 23 COUNTRIES On 25–26 October 2018, ministers, health workers, academics, partners and civil society came together to recommit to primary health care as the cornerstone of UHC (first announced in 2012) in the bold newDeclaration of Astana.

The Declaration was a focus to renew political commitment to primary health care from governments, non-governmental organizations, professional organizations, academia and global health and development organisations. The WHO in partnership with UNICEF and the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan hosted this Global Conference on Primary Health Care 40 years after the adoption of the historic Declaration of Alma-Ata.

Building on the theme of global health and previous programs of health systems and global health systems run by Helen Jordan and Peter Annear, the new Comparative Health Systems program was launched in 2018. A week-long intensive looking at global health systems, how they are financed, how responsive they are and how we need to take on a more systems focused approach to health not just focusing on diseases or pillars.

In 2018, a team led by Dr Alison Morgan together with Ms Prarthna Dayal, Dr Matthew Reeve, Professor Peter Annear, Dr Krishna Hort, Professor Barbara McPake, Professor Ajay Mahal and Ms Katherine Gilbert at the Nossal Institute were awarded the Norman Curry Award which recognises programs and initiatives in innovation and excellence in support of, and service to, teaching and learning including distinctiveness, coherence and clarity of purpose; a positive influence on student learning and student engagement; breadth of impact; and concern for equity and diversity.Recognising the role of technology in enabling this shift, since joining the MPH teaching team in 2009, Dr Enes Makalic has endeavoured to deepen the connection between teaching and research.

In 2018, Dr Enes Makalic was awarded the inaugural MDHS Dean’s Fellowship for Learning and Teaching. The Fellowships develop and celebrate excellence in learning and teaching practice and innovation and provide enhanced professional development opportunities for teaching staff through funding short national or international visits that foster significant and lasting connections with internationally recognised leaders in learning and teaching. The plans at the time included a study visit to South Korea to look at the feasibility of a new elective subject focused on applied machine learning in public health. Congratulationsare also due to Enes for winningtheDavid White Award for Teaching Excellence as part ofthe2020 Melbourne Excellence Awards Program.

Building on the student exchanges that started in Lund in Sweden in 2013, the Public Health Foundation India (PHFI) was set up 2018. The MPH Mentoring program, led by Sue Durham, was piloted in 2018 and has a variety of final year MPH students matched with a range of Alumni Mentors both within Australia and internationally.

“The MPH provided a grounding for me in understanding the distinctions and importance of social inclusion and equity. Working in the Indigenous health space within the University of Melbourne, our core focus of work was directed towards improving the outcomes of Indigenous peoples through leadership in education. Our people have a wealth of knowledge and expertise, so advocating for their success in a higher education environment was really important for us. It was great to see the University recognise the work that we championed in growing the cohort of Indigenous health researchers through our familiarisation programs. The social inclusion award was a nice recognition for the work we had put in but more importantly it was great to see more and more Indigenous PhDs handing in their theses and graduating”. Warwick Padgham, Australia

“I have incorporated research-informed teaching examples in my curriculum and by using technology (eg, mobile phones, web-based applications) to engage students and stimulate independent active learning. The future of education is digital and in the next few years we are about to witness the increasing use of data science and machine learning to aid in development and delivery of virtual learning solutions and personalised learning tailored to the needs of each student. With the advent of big data, we have seen an increasing number of students wanting to combine their public health and digital expertise and this has been incorporated into many Capstone research projects as well as the Professional Practice Unit.” Associate Professor Enes Makalic

“I was so excited to start the MPH journey that I was already looking up course outlines while halfway through my undergraduate degree in Pharmacy. Like many of the other clinicians who turned to public health, I really enjoyed clinical work but left almost every patient interaction contemplating the broader social, political and cultural determinants of health that brought that patient to me. The MPH has equipped me with a toolkit of approaches, skills and most importantly, principles, for being a good practitioner of public health wherever I go. I also got to meet an incredible network of like-minded individuals who were all hoping to make an impact on public health. Through the MPH I discovered a passion for health policy and health reform, now having worked across Federal and State governments for 5 years. Surprisingly, not as many people working in health policy actually have a background in public health and so I have been able to integrate the things I learned through the MPH into my day-to-day work trying to make the health system more accessible, equitable, safe and high-performing for all. The great thing about working in the public service is that you have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the lives of millions.” Daniel Roitman, Australia

“One of the most rewarding aspects was the people – I really enjoyed meeting and getting to know the lecturers involved in delivering the program, seeing the work they do day-to-day was really incredible.” Paediatric Infectious Diseases Paediatrician, Linny is the Founder and Director (Chair) of The Water Well Project. Named 2017 Australian Medical Association Doctor in Training of the Year, 2013 Victorian State Finalist for Young Australian of the Year and recognised as a 2016 Victorian Premier’s Volunteer Champion and is a current Australia Day Ambassador. Linny Kimly Phuong, Australia

FROM CSIRO "THE FUTURE OF HEALTH" 2018