This series of Strategic Roundtables brings together delegates, experts from WHO, partner agencies and civil society to discuss current priorities and next solutions on vital issues for global public health.
The events take place at The Palais de Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and is being webcast on this web page.
Sessions start at 13:00 CEST.
Sessions:
Room XXVI, Palais de Nations (Geneva, Switzerland)
Monday 23 May 2022, 13:00–14:15
WHA75 Strategic Roundtable - A Healthy Return: investing in a sustainably financed WHO
Expert reports have highlighted the mismatch between what the world needs from WHO and, in particular, its role leading the multilateral response to health emergencies, and the way it is currently funded. In January 2021 the Working Group on Sustainable Financing was set up to look afresh at the issue and it makes substantive recommendations in a report to be discussed at this Assembly.
The event will include the formal launch of A healthy return: investing in a sustainably financed WHO, the new WHO investment case. It will also spotlight the Results Report 2020–2021 ‘For a Safer, Healthier and Fairer world’ as an example of the commitment of the Secretariat to enhanced accountability, transparency and reporting on results.
Tuesday 24 May 2022, 13:00–14:30
WHA75 Strategic Roundtable - Urgent paradigm shift towards preventing disease and promoting health: Economics of Health for All
This roundtable brings together global leaders with different perspectives and experiences in addressing the determinants of health, and common goods for people and planet. These include working outwards from health and social care; planning and investment in health-determining sectors; specific policy actions and economic levers to support strategic public budgets and investment in state capacity for “Health for All”, and investment in institutions and human development.
The event will highlight and guide WHO’s future role in convening and engaging proactively and directly across sectors, and with economic and financial leaders and organizations. It will focus on working together to position health as a core development objective, and guide investments to support a healthy society – rather than framing health financing as an expenditure.
Wednesday 25 May 2022, 13:00–14:30
WHA75 Strategic Roundtable – Radical reorientation of health systems towards primary health care as the foundation of universal health coverage: The best and only choice to achieve universal health coverage
The COVID pandemic has exposed the limitations of most health systems. In response to the crisis, a WHO position paper was released in October 2021, “Building health systems resilience towards UHC and health security during COVID-19 pandemic and beyond”. This paper insists on the importance of urgently and smartly investing in primary health care, the essential public health functions and health systems foundations across many countries.
In this roundtable, we will hear why a radical reorientation of health systems toward primary health care is crucial. We will hear first-hand reflections from two countries and will learn from major international financial institutions, bilateral donors and nongovernmental organizations about how they can collectively support countries in reorienting their health systems towards primary health care.
Thursday 26 May 2022, 13:00–14:30
WHA75 Strategic Roundtable – Towards a new architecture for health emergency preparedness, response and resilience: 10 proposals for a safer world
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a stronger and more inclusive health emergency preparedness, response and resilience architecture. The WHA is engaging Member States and partners in discussion about a vision for Strengthening the Global Architecture for Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience. To ensure a broad and inclusive consultation process, the draft of the Director-General’s proposals for strengthening health emergency preparedness, response and resilience was published and several consultations have already occurred. This strategic roundtable provides another forum to bring together different perspectives across the issues of equity, inclusivity of ownership of all countries and sectors, and coherence in the alignment of systems.
Friday 27 May 2022, 13:00–14:30
WHA75 Strategic Roundtable – Behavioural Science for Better Health
WHO and Member States cannot achieve the ambitious goal of transforming global health and the health of more than 7 billion people without a clear understanding of people’s health-related behaviours. Behavioural sciences focus on understanding why specific behaviours and decision-making processes occur by investigating the drivers of and barriers that operate in a given context at the cognitive, social and environmental levels.
An initiative to mainstream and increase the use of behavioural sciences to complement a biomedical focus on public health challenges was launched by WHO Director-General at the end of the year 2019. This strategic roundtable provides the opportunity to share WHO’s progress in this area and to discuss the way forward, specifically on how to better integrate behavioural sciences into the global health agenda through WHO’s work and that of Member States.