APRU Global Health Conference 2020: Universal Healthcare Across the Lifecourse

Prof Emily Chan, Mr C S Wong and Mr Zhe Huang of the CCOUC team joined the 14th APRU Global Health Conference via Zoom from 19 to 21 October 2020. The conference bringing together more than 2,700 global health experts from across the globe was organized by Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Global Health Program in partnership with Fudan University and University of Southern California Institute on Inequalities in Global Health. It was an invaluable opportunity for those working in the field of global health to share and exchange knowledge and build networks.

Prof Chan delivered a presentation at the panel on COVID-19 on 21 October, entitled “Characteristics and well-being of urban informal home care providers during COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based survey”.

The theme of the APRU Global Health Conference 2020 was “Universal Healthcare Across the Lifecourse”. The conference defined this theme in global health practice, research, and theory. The theme reflects not only the inter-dependence of the whole global society but also health equity throughout the lifecourse within and across countries. To ensure all people have access to needed promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative health services, Universal Health Coverage (UHC) across the life course is a critical component to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages in.

Featured speakers in the conference included Dr Margaret Chan, Inaugural Dean of Vanke School of Public Health at Tsinghua University and Emeritus Director General of World Health Organization; Dr Minghui Ren, WHO Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage/ Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases; and Prof Alejandro Gaviria, President of Universidad de los Andes and Former Minister of Health and Social Protection, Colombia.