Event Conference
Geneva Health Forum 2024
From May 27 to 29, 2024, the Geneva Health Forum Conference takes place alongside the World Health Assembly (WHA). Organized under the overarching theme "Health, A Common Good!", GHF2024 will dedicate its first day to the environment, exploring the theme "Health and Environment: A Time for Solutions".
About the Geneva Health Forum
Established in 2006 by the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the Geneva Health Forum (GHF) is a Swiss not-for-profit initiative that brings together a diverse range of stakeholders to discuss and address global health challenges. The GHF plays a pivotal role in the global health landscape, as a neutral and inclusive platform, fostering dialogue and collaboration among key players in the field, including policymakers, representatives from academia, civil society, and the private sector.
Its core mission is to facilitate constructive dialogue among these global health actors, which, in turn, contributes to the improvement of health policies and access to care worldwide. The Geneva Health Forum proudly collaborates with some of the most prominent international organizations based in Geneva.
Geneva Health Forum 2024 Conference | Health, A Common Good!
From May 27 to 29, 2024, the Geneva Health Forum Conference will take place alongside the World Health Assembly (WHA). As the WHA convenes a political audience, the GHF Conference provides a unique platform conveying the perspectives of scientists, medical practitioners and field actors on the main challenges and opportunities for global health. Organized under the overarching theme “Health, A Common Good!”, aligning with the WHO’s strategic priorities of universal healthcare coverage and the concept of community engagement, GHF2024 proposes to delve into these concepts within three pivotal domains, to be explored during the three days of the conference:
- Health and Environment: A Time for Solutions | 27 May 2024
- Migration, health and equity | 28 May 2024
- Towards the Elimination of Malaria | 29 May 2024
Health and Environment: A Time for Solutions
The first day of the conference, 27 May 2024, will be dedicated to exploring the interlinkages between health and the environment, as environmental degradation profoundly impacts human health in various ways:
- Pollution directly contributes to a growing number of diseases and fatalities.
- Climate change leads to a variety of natural calamities affecting agriculture and water resources, directly impacting human well-being and presenting formidable humanitarian challenges.
- Human interference with animals and ecosystems, resulting in reduced biodiversity, scarcity of farmland, and the industrialization of agriculture and livestock farming, constitutes a source of epidemics (such as Ebola and COVID-19) and significantly contributes to antibiotic resistance.
- This degradation is most acutely felt in impoverished regions, exacerbating health inequalities worldwide.
Additionally, the healthcare system itself contributes to environmental degradation.
The thematic day also builds momentum on the fact that at WHA77, a report will be presented on the actions undertaken by WHO to address the impact of climate change on health, as well as the impact of chemicals, waste, and pollution on human health.
The program of the day will feature various sessions, symposia, challenges, and an evening event:
Sessions:
- 09:00 to 10:30 CEST | The Silent Threat: Exploring pollution’s impact on health
- 11:00 – 12:30 CEST | Bridging science and policy on health and pollution
- 14:00 – 15:30 CEST | Impact of the health system on the environment in LMICs
- 16:00 – 17:30 CEST | Presentations from the field
Current Challenges:
- 09:00 to 10:30 CEST | Essential learning for health emergencies and public health: WHO’s open source online learning platform
- 11:00 – 12:30 CEST | Geneva at the heart of global health cooperation: Insights from WHO and Collaborating Centres
- 14:00 – 15:30 CEST | Reaching elimination of neglected tropical diseases: Challenges, lessons, and next steps
- 16:00 – 17:30 CEST | Tackling global health challenges with deep tech – CERN Global Health Workshop
Evening Event:
- 18:00 – 20:00 CEST | Impact of climate change on the most vulnerable populations
GEN @ GHF 2024
This session aims to foster a shared understanding of the situation and to compile a comprehensive inventory of initiatives aimed at mitigating the health impacts of pollution. Through the presentation of concrete examples, we will seek to quantify the mortality and morbidity associated with pollution, with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Additionally, we will explore the potential for addressing pollution to reverse its adverse effects on health and the environment. → Find more information and join the session