Plenary sessions Marseille 2019

This session is the official opening session of the conference and provides an introduction to the main theme.

Moderators

Yves Charpak, Chair of the 12th European Public Health Conference

Speakers

• • Jérôme Salomon, General Director for Health, French Ministry of Health
  • Hans Kluge, Regional Director Nominee WHO Regional Office for Europe
  • Sophie Beau, Co-founder and General Director of the European Civil Rescue Association SOS Méditerranée, France

Following the plenary at the Ljubljana 2018 conference presenting a Roadmap to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, this plenary will focus on building bridges between different professions and communities as a means to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The WHO European SDG roadmap, building on Health 2020, has five interdependent strategic directions:
Governance: advancing governance and leadership for health and well-being;
Equity and leaving no one behind;
Preventing disease and addressing health determinants by promoting multi- and intersectoral policies throughout the life-course;
Local action: establishing healthy places, settings and resilient communities; and
Universal Health Coverage: strengthening health systems for universal health coverage.
In this plenary, we will take the discussion one step further: What were the key decisions that were taken by policymakers and which partnerships made it happen? What ways of working did we adopt and how did we manage the necessary changes? The stage on how to develop leadership and innovation capabilities needed to achieve the SDGs will be set by the founder of the Presencing Institute, Dr Otto Scharmer. Three professionals (representing a research institute, an international health organization, and a city council) reflect on the year 2018 and how their work, in partnership with other sectors, has shaped the future we are now in.

Moderator

• Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, President EUPHA
• Anna Cichowska Myrup (Presentation), Programme Manager Public Health Services, WHO Regional Office for Europe

Keynote speakers/panellists

• Hans Kluge, Regional Director Nominee WHO Regional Office for Europe
• Otto Scharmer, Senior Lecturer, MIT Management Sloan School, Cambridge, United States – Presentation
• Miklós Szócska, Director Health Services Management Training Center, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
• Paula Vassallo, President European Dental Public Health Association (EADPH)
• Ricardo Baptista Leite, Member of Parliament, Head of Public Health at Católica University of Portugal, and former Deputy Mayor of Cascais, Portugal

Key question

How important is cross-sectoral and cross-regional cooperation in terms of migration and public health? How can we approach migration within and to Europe as a benefit for the region?

Europe is experiencing high volumes of migration, both within and to the region. Globally, several factors contributing to high volume migration, ranging from economic ones (migrant workers) to forced displacement caused by conflict, persecution and climate changes (draught or other extreme weather conditions) severely affecting living conditions. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has estimated that in 2017, the number of international migrants1 living in Europe reached 78 million, over 10% of the European population, and that two thirds of international migrants live in Europe or Asia2. In EU countries, an estimated 22.3 million migrants are non-EU citizens (data as of 1st January 2018) and in 2017 alone, the EU has seen 2.4 million new arrivals from non-EU citizens to its Member States3. Inevitably, this trend has significant implications for public health in Europe.
Migration has significant implications for public health in Europe. Beyond potential pressures on healthcare systems, that can occur especially in instances of large scale rapid migration, some subgroups of migrants, particularly those forcibly displaced or those originating from countries with weak health systems (i.e. refugees, asylum seekers, and irregular migrants) are particularly vulnerable and susceptible to infections. This may be due to the fact that they could come from countries with high prevalence of infectious diseases and/or low vaccine coverage. In addition, the migration journeys or substandard living conditions in overcrowded migrant centres may have increased the risk of contracting an infection4.
This plenary session will showcase several bridges contributing to strengthening public health functions and services in terms of migration, pinpointing the crucial importance of:

• public health resources and cross-sectoral cooperation: the case of the Mediterranean Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (MediPIET) building capacity in the EU enlargement and European Neighbourhood countries with particular focus on global health security; the impact of the programme on capacity building among infectious disease epidemiologists in a small country with a large influx of migrants;
• public health guidance: the case of guidance on screening and vaccination for infectious diseases in newly arrived migrants within the EU/EEA;
• public health policy and advocacy: the case of WHO Global Action Plan to promote the health of refugees and migrants;
• involvement of the affected population in the discussion and decision making.

The aim of this one-hour session is to stir the debate around migrant health issues and infectious diseases in the European context. The panel will start with a keynote speaker, followed by a lively expert discussion reflecting different perspectives.

Moderators

• • Karl Ekdahl, ECDC, and Michael Edelstein, EUPHA IDC

Keynote speaker

• Sally Hargreaves, Lecturer in Global Health, St George’s University of London, United Kingdom

Panellists

• • • Nada Ghosn, Head of Epidemiological Surveillance Unit, Ministry of Public Health, Lebanon
    • Neha Pathak, UCL Institute of Health Informatics, United Kingdon
    • Isabel de la Mata, Principal Adviser for Health and Crisis Management, DG SANTE, European Commission

Europe is entering the third decade of the 21st century and health is on the agenda. Or is it? It seems that with Europeans healthier than ever and enormously improving our ability to prevent and treat current diseases, health seems to be a theme of the past. At the same time, the society is in turmoil and both old and new health challenges are threatening Europe. The changing demographics – climate change, urbanisation, migration and ageing -, the technological and digital revolution -given us both medical technology and fake news, genetic mapping and new addictions (gaming) -, and the resurgence of old diseases such as measles, all lead to the necessity of bridging our previous successes with the need for a new public health in the future.
In 2019, several changes are occurring: we will elect a new regional director for WHO Europe and we will have both a new European Parliament, a new European president of the European Commission, a new European Commission and a new European Commissioner for Health. And these changes have led to a new discussion on the necessity of health as a European topic.
In this plenary session, we will look at the priorities in public health from the perspective of the European Commission, the Finnish presidency of the European Council and the European Public Health Association. Finally, we have a young health professional reflecting on the new (public) health professional.

Moderators

Isabel de la Mata, Principal Adviser for Health and Crisis Management, DG SANTE, European Commission, and Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, President EUPHA

Speakers/Panellists

• Anne Bucher, Director-General, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), European Commission
• Liisa-Maria Voipio-Pulkki, Director General Strategic Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland
• Dineke Zeegers Paget, Executive Director EUPHA
• Sara McQuinn, Co-ordinator EUPHAnxt

The plenary will continue the debate on The future of Public Health in Europe introduced in the previous plenary (organized by the European Commission and EUPHA), tackling the role of the EU and its institutions in ensuring that health is addressed in all EU policies.
The EU is firmly committed to implementing the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals through its range of institutional mechanisms. Incoming Commission President von der Leyen has pledged to refocus the European Semester “to make sure we stay on track with our SDGs”. These
developments, together with the broad recognition of the central role of health in the SDGs and the momentum given by the new EU policy cycle presents a unique window of opportunity to critically reappraise the role of health in the EC, which, at least, on paper makes for an ideal Health in All Policies institution.

Moderator

Josep Figueras, Director European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies

Keynote speaker/Panellists

• Anne Bucher, Director-General, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), European Commission
• Scott L Greer, Professor Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, United States
• John Middleton, President Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER)
• Marian Harkin, Chair of All Policies for a Healthy Europe, Former Member of the European Parliament

Andrija Stampar medal ceremony

• Gaetano Maria Fara, Professor Emeritus of Public Health, Sapienza University of Rome

Newsroom

• Dorli Kahr-Gottlieb, Secretary General of the European Health Forum Gastein
• Naomi Nathan, ASPHER Fellow

More than half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, and urbanisation has significant impacts on the whole of society. Cities are major destinations for internal and external migration alike. Access to services, affordable housing, and quality employment in urban areas are challenges common to all vulnerable populations, including migrants. These difficult circumstances – and rising inequalities generally– have strained social inclusion efforts across Europe. In addition, migration has become highly politicised; fake news is used to undermine trust and divide communities. This leads to increased discrimination and is restricting access to education, work, justice and health. Power disparities lead to health inequalities. In this environment, policymakers, civil society actors, and community advocates must work collaboratively and creatively across sectors to improve health and social outcomes not only for migrants, but for all vulnerable populations in urban environments. How can public health practice adapt to this context to better address the needs of migrants as well as other vulnerable populations? We should move away from describing the problems to work on the solutions. How can we change public perceptions? How can normative agencies and research institutions respond to and support the needs/challenges of public health practitioners ‘on the ground’ in cities?

This session will attempt to address these and related critical questions, discussing the way forward for health equity and urban and migrant health while highlighting inspiring case studies.

Topics include:

• What are some of the key ‘myths’ about migrant communities, living and working in cities, that must be corrected to facilitate social integration and improve service provision? Are migrants a burden on services (health, long term care, social care, childcare) or contributors? Are they receiving more benefits than contributing in taxes? How to respond to discrimination/racism and stigmatisation?
• How do we ensure that urban health and social services are person-centred and founded on the principles of proportionate universality? Given the diversity of migration flows to cities, how do we develop appropriate public services for each group, considering cultural dimensions as well as nurture and build on their existing skills and resources?
• What is the role of living and working situations in shaping opportunities and health outcomes for migrants? Can housing, schools, workplaces or urban renewal projects in communities be used to build bridges to other forms of support?
• Where is public health failing and what needs to be changed for improved health and wellbeing and reduced inequalities, giving current contexts as described above? What can be done at the European level to address urban and migrant health issues?

Moderator

Caroline Costongs, Director EuroHealthNet

Speakers/Panellists

• Santino Severoni, Coordinator Health and Migration, Division of Policy and Governance for Health and Well-being, WHO Regional Office for Europe
• Jean-Paul Moatti, Director Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD), France
• Lucinda Hiam, Honorary Research Fellow, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
• Bernadette Nirmal Kumar, President EUPHA Section Migrant and ethnic minority health, Professor Empower School of Public Health, Haryana, India
• Maryam Gardisi, Deputy Director International psychosocial organisation (Ipso), Germany 

Moderators

Yves Charpak, Chair of the 12th European Public Health Conference

Keynote speakers

• Laurence Auer, Director of Culture, Education and Research, Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, France
• Charlotte Marchandise, Elected member of the City Council of Rennes, France

Awards ceremony

Best Poster Prize, Best Abstract Prize, Ferenc Bojan Award

Welcome to the 13th EPH Conference/16th World Congress on Public Health

12 -17 October 2020, Rome, Italy

• Walter Ricciardi, Co-chair of the 16th World Congress on Public Health, SItI
• Carlo Signorelli, Co-chair of the 16th World Congress on Public Health, SItI