2013 WHEN World Health Assembly 66

 


The World Health Editors Network (WHEN) is an international interprofessional exchange and action platform dedicated to exploring and strengthening communications as a positive determinant of health.

 

 

WHCA joins forces with CSDconsulting in Geneva to launch a new Journalism and Health Mentoring Initiative 
WHEN meeting, Geneva, 18-23 May 2013

WHEN's latest consultation meeting was held on 19th and 20th May in Geneva to discuss issues of the 66rd World Health Assembly (WHA). Various specialists, active in the topics of the assembly were invited to meet the journalists and editors and present to the meeting.

For further information about WHEN, please select here.

The experts' available PowerPoint presentations are the following:

Dario Manfellotto, Italian Radio and Television (RAI), Italy

[download presentation]

William New, Intellectual Property Watch, Geneva

[download presentation]

Kathryn Taubert, Chief Science Officer, World Heart Federation

[download presentation]

 

Jon Pearman, Senior Adviser Vaccine Implementation, GAVI Alliance

[download presentation]

Mario Raviglione, Director, Global TB Programme, 
World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

[download presentation]

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Challenge
Finding effective ways to:

Why Journalism and Health

Journalism and public health are public goods. Journalists are key contributors to people’s health literacy (the ability to access, assess and use information for health). Poor health literacy is associated with poor health choices, increased illnesses, higher health costs and death. Health literacy is one of the strongest predictors of health along with age, gender, ethnicity, income and empowerment. Paradoxically, journalism training does not often focus on public health and the study of public health gives low priority to the role of journalists as public health educators and informers.

Who’s there? Yes (WTY) is a new independent initiative which aims to address this paradox by raising the health literacy of journalists and an awareness of their roles and responsibilities to raise health literacy of others.  A proof of concept workshop is bringing 15 international journalists, scientists and advocates from around the world to the 66thsession of the World Health Assembly (WHA) for a hands-on understanding of global health policies. Through a series of meetings with key policy makers, advocates and analysts, participants will reflect and identify effective ways to gain information from and about the work and plans of WHA participants (National Public Health Authorities including Ministers of Health from 198 countries of the WHO).  While the WHA, the World Health Organisation’s apex body, is the largest gathering of public health decision makers from around the world, its public recognition remains low.

The initiative will explore the role of communications as a determinant of public health along-with epidemiology, law and economics. The curriculum will have inputs from governments, civil society, the private sector and academia.

Provisional Program
The Unofficial Guide to WHO 66th WHA

Special thanks to World Health Professions Alliance and Johnson&Johnson for support to the meeting.