2024 Global Health Seminar Series

In the endeavour to encourage and inspire more colleagues to have their research matter, the Department of Global Health has launched a webinar series showcasing stories of knowledge to action.

For queries, contact Ms Chanelle Windvogel on chaneller@sun.ac.za.

Sustaining the polio free status in south Africa is everybody’s business: The SA Polio Eradication Initiatives

Date: 12 September 2024 | 13h00-14h00
Venue: MS Teams

More details here

Facilitated by Dr Juliet Nyasulu Acting Head of the Division of Health Systems & Public Health and Chairperson for the South African Polio National certification committee View complete Seminar here

Dr Simangele Mthethwa

Medical Doctor and Epidemiologist (WHO)

Dr Simangele Mthethwa is a Medical Doctor and epidemiologist working for the World Health Organization (WHO), as the Vaccine Preventable Disease National Professional Officer (VPD-NPO) since 2022.

Understanding the Concerns and Challenges Against the NHI Act

Date: 22 August 2024 | 14h00-15h00
Venue: MS Teams

More details here

Facilitated by Dr Juliet Nyasulu Acting Head of the Division of Health Systems & Public Health View complete Seminar here

Mr Vishal Brijlal

Senior Director at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)

Vishal Brijlal is an Economist who specialises in health policy, health financing and economics, public-private partnerships and health insurance, with over 25 years of experience advising national governments across 11 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and India. Vishal is currently a Senior Director at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).

Health Sciences Training for Disability Inclusion: The Need to Engage with Emotion

Date: 13 June 2024 | 12h00-13h30
Venue: MS Teams

More details here

Facilitated by Associate Professor Lieketseng Ned, Division of Disability & Rehabilitation Studies, Stellenbosch University View complete Seminar here

Professor Brian Watermeyer

Associate Professor at the Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, Department of Global Health at Stellenbosch University

Material aspects of disability inequality, such as access to quality services, housing and employment, are an urgent, worldwide concern. Less recognised though, are psychological layers of prejudice and discrimination, which play a significant role in cementing marginality. Against this backdrop, health practitioners can fill influential roles in shaping the self-identity and citizenship entitlement of people with disabilities. Yet, these professionals are, like the balance of society, socialised in environments where ableism is intrinsic, invisible, and unquestioned.

“Doing what you can with what you have?"
How building resilient multidisciplinary teamscan help improve clinical outcomes even in times of scarcity.

Date: 15 May 2024 | 18h00-19h00
Venue: Worcester Campus, 1 Durban Street, Auditorium & MS Teams

More details here

View complete Seminar here

Dr Ben Gaunt

Clinical Manager at Zithulele Hospital

Rural hospitals are among the most resource constrained of all our health environments. It constantly feels as if we are asked to do more with less – and to do it better! I don’t have “the answers”, or a stock of magic bullets to share out, but in this webinar I’ll share some thoughts from the 17 years I spent building a multi-disciplinary team at Zithulele Hospital in the Eastern Cape. I’ll focus on how shared values can help us maximise the outcomes for our patients, hopefully without sacrificing the health professionals, and offer some thoughts about what is and isn’t possible in the context of current scarcities.

Is it Time for a Child Development Revolution?

Date: 27 March 2024 | 15h00-16h00
Venue: MS Teams

More details here

Facilitated by Prof Mark Tomlinson, Institute for Life Course Health Research View complete Seminar here

Benjamin Perks

Head of Campaigns and Advocacy in the Division of Global Communications and Advocacy at the United Nations Children’s Fund, based in New York

Given emerging evidence on the power of parenting programmes, parental leave, and early intervention to boost attachment and nurturing care and break costly intergenerational cycles of trauma, is it time for a Child Development Revolution in which every family gets a minimum package of development support? A discussion on the case for a child development revolution globally.

The current state of healthcare in Gaza: experiences from the frontline

Date: 6 March 2024 | 16h30-17h30
Venue: Lecture Hall 2, First Floor Education Building, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences or MS Teams

More details here

Facilitated by Professor Hassan Mahomed View complete Seminar here

Dr Edward Chu

Emergency Medicine Physician who recently worked in Gaza with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Mr Alaa Hathleen

Physiotherapist from Hebron, Palestine

This seminar contributes to a series of seminars hosted by Healthcare Workers for Palestine (HCW4P) throughout the month of March at various medical campuses across South Africa with the focus on sharing, learning, and discussing the current healthcare situation in Palestine.

Global Initiatives to Promote Adolescent Health and Well-being

Date: 8 February 2024 | 13h00-14h00
Venue: MS Teams

More details here

Hosted by the Institute for Life Course Health Research, Stellenbosch University View complete Seminar here

Professor David Ross

Associate Editor of the Journal of Adolescent Health and is a consultant to the Child Health Initiative of the FIA Foundation

David grew up in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and the UK. He is a clinically-trained epidemiologist doing research and training on adolescent health and well-being and is a “Professor Extra-ordinary” in Epidemiology and Public Health in the Institute for Life Course Health Research of Stellenbosch University.