14th APRU Global Health Conference 2020 records massive virtual reach
November 27, 2020
01

APRU held its annual 2020 Global Health Conference October 19-21, expanding the APRU Global Health Program’s knowledge-sharing and member-engagement through the network. The 14th APRU Global Health Conference was the first APRU program conference conducted virtually, and it also was the APRU conference with the widest reach, attracting nearly 1,500 contributors and participants from 39 APRU member universities and over 300 external partners across 53 economies.

In line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, the conference this year focused on the theme Universal Healthcare across the Life Course.

The two keynote speeches were held by Dr Margaret Chan, Inaugural Dean of Tsinghua University’s Vanke School of Public Health and Emeritus Director General of WHO, and Alejandro Gaviria, President of Universidad de los Andes and former Minister of Health and Social Protection, Colombia.

“When the WHO was founded in 1947, new diseases were rare, as people travelled internationally by ship and news travelled by telegram, but since then profound changes have occurred in the way humanity inhabits the planet,” Chan said.

“Today, very few health threats are local, and climate change, population growth, rapid urbanization, intensive farming practices, environmental degradation, and misuse of anti-microbios are challenges that have disrupted the micro-bio world, leading to a dramatic increase of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases around the world,” she added.

The third prominent speaker was Dr Ren Minghui, the WHO’s Assistant Director-General, Universal Health Coverage/ Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases. A panel on migration (focusing on immigration in Ecuador, wellbeing of the migrant care workers in Taiwan, and personal story sharing on human trafficking in Philippines) and women (focusing on women’s voices maternity care in the SDG era, case studies in Malawi and China, and infertility in the Asian community) also garnered much attention.

The conference prominently displayed new member participation, as reflected by the Universidad de los Andes’ President Gaviria in his keynote speech endorsing further collaboration with APRU’s Global Health Program, and University of Queensland Professor Gita Mishra and Universidad San Francisco de Quito Professor Maria Amelia Viteri serving as the moderator of the life course plenary and speaker in the migration panel respectively.

The other speakers on plenaries were

  • Zhijie Zheng, University Endowed Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Global Health, School of Public Health, Peking University,
  • Wen Chen, Director, Center for Pharmacoeconomic Research and Evaluation, Fudan University,
  • Fan Wu, Deputy Dean of Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, and
  • Michael Lu Dean of School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley.

Whereas in APRU’s previous global health conferences a physical polling facilitated the picking of the best video of the Global Health Student Case competition, this year an international judging panel chose seven posters (in graduate and undergraduate categories) and three videos as finalists. The panel then invited all students and faculty to log in the online conference and voted for their favorite works. The winning students have received a prize of USD 500.

APRU is delighted to note that the virtual conference was able to reach to a wider range of participants. “One of the key benefits of using a virtual platform is helping to reduce disparities in access to information and best practice sharing for people in middle-income countries who would likely not be able to attend international conferences in person, “said Christopher Tremewan, APRU Secretary General.

Related Articles
Unique innovations blossomed at the APRU SDG Education for Global Citizenship Program
more
Global Climate Change Simulation Offers USC Students New Perspectives on Worldwide Fight
more
UO Students Co-host APRU Global Climate Change Simulation
more
17th Annual APRU Multi-Hazards Symposium Presents New Approaches and Tools to Tackle Future Risks
more
APRU Presents Solutions for New Core Competency- Building at 18th APEC Future Education Forum
more
12th APRU Population Ageing Virtual Conference 2022 Takes on Massive Challenges in Achieving Optimal Outcomes for Older Persons
more
APRU SDG4GC orientations kick-start exploration of health & well-being
more
APRU Sustainable Cities & Landscapes Conference Helps Shifting Toward Well-prepared and Resilient Urban Societies
more
The APRU Climate Change Simulation- Preparing Students to Lobby Leaders for Vital Actions
more
Congratulations to the winners of the APRU Digital Art Contest, “Level-Up Our World”
more
APRU Students Showcase Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills in APRU Global Health Virtual Case Competition
more
Congratulations to the winners of the APRU Rampage Invitational Tournament
more
Students from Tongji School of Medicine Enrolled in the Top 10 Entries of the APRU Global Health Virtual Case Competition 2022
more
Graduation Ceremony and Final Presentations of Esports Fellowship Program 2nd Cohort leaves participants in awe
more
Congratulations to the Winners of the APRU VSE Earth Day Challenge!
more
APRU on The Fiji Times: FNU Students Join Global Climate Change Simulation
more
APRU Carbon Neutral Society Action Month Opens New Doors for Early Career Researchers
more
Congratulations to the winners of the APRU Student Esports Paper Competition
more
APRU Global Sustainability: Waste & The City Seminar Course Helps Graduate Students Shape Green Leadership Concepts
more
UBC News: 2 UBC Esports undergrads win industry research scholarships
more
APEC Healthy Women Healthy Economy Prize Accepting Applications 2022
more
APRU on UNESCO News: New report “Moving minds: Opportunities and challenges for virtual student mobility in a post-pandemic world”
more
APRU on SCMP: Covid-19 wrecks exchange programme plans, as record low number of Hong Kong university students went overseas in last academic year
more
APRU Esports Fellowship Program Welcomes the 2nd Cohort of Student Leaders
more
UP hosts the first virtual APRU Undergraduate Leaders’ Program
more
Global MOOC and Online Education Conference 2021 highlights APRU Virtual Student Exchange (VSE) Program
more
APRU on SCMP: Virtual foreign exchange allowing students to ‘study abroad’ without leaving home will outlast Covid-19
more
UH News: Esports fellowship creates global opportunities for UH students
more
APRU Global Health Conference Focuses on Urban Health and Infodemics
more
Congratulations to the 1st Cohort of the APRU Esports Fellowship Program Participants
more
APRU Student Global Climate Change Simulation Tackling Climate Change Head-On
more
Esports Webinar Series by YESPORTS and APRU helps exploring career opportunities
more
APRU Joins Solve Climate by 2030 Project
more
Cyberport Brings Together Hong Kong and Pacific Rim Youth for Esports Exchange
more
YESPORTS ESPORTS APPRENTICESHIP Recipient Announced
more
APRU Virtual Webinar Series Helps Mastering Remote Teaching Challenges
more
Winners of the 2021 APEC Healthy Women Research Prize
more
APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Policy Dialogue
more
4th SCL Conference mastered shift from face-to-face to virtual, new survey shows
more
APRU Launches the First Global Inter-University Esports Conference and Fellowship Program
more
APRU Quarantunes Competition Connects and Uplifts Student Communities through Music, Boosting Spirits during Ongoing Pandemic
more
APRU Global Health experts co-publish insights on global health ethics in the time of COVID-19
more
APRU E-Sports Apprenticeship
more
Winners of the Global Health Student Activities 2020 Announced
more
TEC News: Song of Tec students wins 1st place among universities worldwide
more
Quarantunes Student Music Competition
more
APRU-IRIDeS Multi-Hazards Virtual Summer School 2020
more
USC-based Global Health Program highlights interdisciplinary collaboration in the time of coronavirus
more
Collaboration, technology and global health policy
more
2020 Healthy Women/Healthy Economies Research Prize Application Open Through May 2020
more
APRU Global Health Program advisory group leader launches new journal
more
Upgrade needed for universities’ workplace wellness programs, new APRU survey shows
more
Cities and Refugees – 2019 Global Student Design Ideas Competition
more
APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Research Prize 2019
more
APRU Inaugural Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Design Field School
more
APEC Health Meetings in PNG enriched by APRU insights
more
Winners of 2018 Global Health Student Poster Contest
more
Finalists entries for the 2016 Global Health Case Competition
more
1
58