Health Equity: Our Global Responsibility
16th Annual Canadian Conference on International Health
Sunday, October 25th to Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Crowne Plaza Ottawa Hotel
101 Lyon Street N, Ottawa, Ontario, K1R 5T9
Canadians, as global citizens, first declared our commitment to health equity and social justice in 1948 with the signing of the Declaration of Human Rights; Canadians continue the commitment through our participation in the implementation of the Global Call to Action: Closing the Gap in One Generation. In spite of significant progress and improved health status over the last 60 years, as global citizens, we continue to be challenged to live up to our promise.
We have a responsibility to work toward health equity, social justice, and universal attainment of human rights. To be effective, communities - with governments, non-government organizations and the private sector - must work in partnership, with a common vision. Addressing the social determinants of health, such as, - security of food, shelter, safety, education, income, poverty, employment, and access to care - will create the necessary foundations for our solutions.
The 2009 Canadian Conference on International Health (CCIH) will examine inequities of health status, and the impact on the health of marginalized, vulnerable and Indigenous populations of changing environments, whether these changes are due to climate, technology, the economy or threats to human security.
We invite presentations exploring lessons learned and new ways of understanding health equity and social justice locally, nationally and globally. The Call for Abstracts for Papers and Posters will be open on February 25, 2009. Anticipated outcomes of the conference will be:
1. evidence of improvements in social determinants and their impacts on health and social outcomes
2. evidence of the impact of environmental technological and economic change on health equity
3. consideration of the need for a paradigm shift in intersectoral policy and practice, locally, nationally and internationally
4. a summary of the current thought and discourse on Canada’s responsibility, in Canada and globally, for health equity and social justice (addressing our original 1948 commitment), and proposed ways forward.
Addressing these challenges the 2009 Canadian Conference on International Health will consist of daily plenary sessions, several topic-focused symposia, followed by a number of parallel “paper sessions” and a poster session/reception.
THEME AREAS (Note: Global, National and Local experiences will be welcome on each day)
Day 1: Ethics and Responsibility, Economics and Social Determinants
- Economics: Achieving the MDGs: Hope or Despair
- Ethics: Partnerships and Capacity
- Social Determinants of Health: Evidence, Achievements and Challenges
- Searching for Social Justice: Achievements and Challenges
Day 2: Global Health Diplomacy (GHD)
- Social reform, responsibility, accountability:
- Global Health Diplomacy and the G8
- Diplomacy and Ethical Aid
- Responsible Health Security: Ethics and Reality
- Health in all policies: The Role of Global Health Diplomacy
- Role of academe/ the role of civil society in Global Health Diplomacy: Training and capacity building and action
- Indigenous participation and perspectives
Day 3: Social Determinants of Health: Think Globally, Act Locally
- Rolling out the MDGs
- Implementing the Social Determinants of Health: What’s Working
- Advocacy and Social Determinants of Health: Does It Work?
- Sustainable Environments in the Context of Global Change
- Social Determinants of Health and Vulnerable Populations: Evidence and Action
- Indigenous World Views and Contribution to Social Determinants of Health
This conference will bring attention to our responsibility as global citizens to take action on progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals and ultimately health equity. The conference will address the best evidence and action on the progress of the MDGs, the role of health diplomacy and the evidence and opportunities for action as we integrate a social determinants of health framework into our policies programs and action at the global, national and local level.
