Date & Time
8:30am, 20 May 2023 - 9:30am, 11 May 2023Location
Genève, SwitzerlandAbout the event
Civil society plays a critical role in advancing universal health coverage. By working closely with governments and decision-makers, civil society can help advance policies and programmes that prioritise those most in need and ensure quality healthcare is accessible to all.
The Commonwealth Foundation will convene a dialogue with senior health officials in attendance at the Commonwealth Health Ministers meeting to discuss opportunities and approaches for government and civil society to work together to advance universal health coverage. It follows the recent Critical Conversations roundtable event on Advancing Universal Health Coverage Through Gender Equality, which was attended by 220 health experts and civil society leaders. As a result of that roundtable and subsequent outreach the Foundation has collated 12 Key Asks that will form the basis of discussions. The Asks represent a shared vision for inclusive and equitable healthcare across the Commonwealth.
This informal dialogue with senior health officials from Commonwealth Member States will provide a unique opportunity for the Foundation and its partners to engage with policymakers and to contribute to the development of policies that prioritise the needs of all Commonwealth citizens.
Attendees will receive a booklet of writing filled with pieces from Remember to Rest, the latest adda collection, inspired by the theme of healthy communities.
Speakers
Dr. Anne T. Gallagher AO is the Director-General of the Commonwealth Foundation. A lawyer, practitioner, teacher, and scholar, her long international career has involved specialisation in a wide range of areas including human rights and the administration of criminal justice. After several years teaching in the law school of the Australian National University, Anne was recruited to the United Nations where she served for 12 years, including as a special adviser to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson. From 2003, Anne worked with the Association of South-East Asian Nations and its ten Member States to strengthen legislative and criminal justice responses to human trafficking and related exploitation. Her recent and current appointments include President of the International Catholic Migration Commission; Co-Chair of the International Bar Association’s Presidential Task Force on Human Trafficking; Academic Adviser at Doughty St Chambers; member of the Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration; and Chairperson of Girls Not Brides.
Harjyot Khosa is currently working as External Relations Director at International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), South Asia Regional Office. Previously, she has worked as a Regional Advocacy Adviser at India HIV/AIDS Alliance. She has managed and coordinated dynamically with sex workers, women who use drugs, LGBTIQ+, people who use drugs, children and young people and PLHIV communities, to strengthen all aspects of SRHR, TB and HIV care, support, prevention programs, across south Asia.
She is currently serving as one of the CSO representatives on the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, which is a ground-breaking global collaboration to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. She is also serving as a CSO representative on the Scientific Working Group for the Global Pandemic Preparedness and Response Scheme (I-DAIR).
She holds a doctorate in Psychology and enjoys reading literature in her free time.
Dr. Justin Koonin is co-chair of UHC2030, the international multistakeholder partnership for Universal Health Coverage. He is also co-chair of the WHO Social Participation Technical Network and of the SDG3 Global Action Plan Civil Society Advisory Group, a civil society representative to the Access to COVID Tools Accelerator (ACT-A), and a member of multiple expert WHO panels.
At a national level, Justin is President of ACON (formerly AIDS Council of New South Wales), Australia’s largest civil society organisation working on HIV prevention, care and support, and the health of sexuality and gender diverse people more broadly.
Waiswa Nkwanga is the Senior Technical Advisor for UHC Advocacy and Coordinator for the Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (CSEM) for UHC2030. Prior to this role, Waiswa was Senior Associate at the ACTION Global Health Partnership at RESULTS, where he led the partnership’s advocacy on tuberculosis, the Global Fund, and research and development. During his time at ACTION, Waiswa worked alongside other civil society organizations to strengthen engagement with the G20 and led the first-ever global civil society survey on the impact of Covid-19 on TB.
Nancy Pinchas is the Executive Director of the Council of Voluntary Social Services (CVSS) in Jamaica. She is a Development Economist with over 28 years of experience in managing programmes designed to influence growth and alleviate poverty. Nancy is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, Mona and the University of Glasgow in Scotland where she obtained a BSc in Economics and completed MPhil studies in Development Economics, respectively. In 1992, she began her career at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ). Throughout her professional career, Nancy has successfully held several project management positions at organisations such as the Planning Institute of Jamaica, NIBJ and the Development Bank of Jamaica. Additionally, Nancy has managed and executed various projects funded by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank on behalf of the Government of Jamaica. Nancy is currently the Treasurer at The Tryall Fund, a position she has held since 2015.
Dr. Rispah Walumbe is a Global health specialist with almost a decade of experience in advocacy and healthcare policy at a national, regional, and global level. Her focus and training are in Healthcare Policy and Financing, and she currently practices as the Senior Health Policy Advisor at Amref Health Africa where she leads the UHC Delivery Lab and provides technical expertise to the institution’s strategy on health financing and health policy. Her work in advocacy and technical support includes the advancement of the Universal Health Coverage agenda. She additionally has a background in medicine with training and practice in Kenya predominantly working in rural and low-income urban areas. She has supported, trained, and mentored over 200 healthcare workers across Kenya in Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care services, and trained over 100 public health practitioners in healthcare policy. Her recent portfolio includes leading the secretariat for National Hospital Insurance Fund health financing reforms in Kenya for Universal Health Coverage through the Ministry of Health and leading the Secretariat of the AHAIC Commission on the State of UHC in Africa.
Datin Jacqueline WM Wong currently acts as Honorary Advisor to demensia Brunei and also serves as a Board Member of CommonAge. Prior to this, she served as the Hon. Secretary of the Executive Committee, Alzheimer’s Disease Foundation of Malaysia (ADFM, 2016-2019). Jacqueline participates in dialogues with the World Health Organization (WHO), The Commonwealth, World Economic Forum (WEF), International Monetary Fund-World Bank Group (IMF-WBG) Civil Society Roundtable Meetings and the Association of the South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). On a volunteer basis, Jacqueline supports dementia-friendly and inclusive community initiatives and sustainable projects, especially those focussed on improving the lives of the ageing population, people with dementia, their carers and families in the Asia Pacific region (including in ASEAN).
Discussion
Location
Genève, SwitzerlandWe support people's participation in democracy and development by providing grants, platforms, and expertise.