Hosted by the Department Global and Environmental Health
Every September, New York becomes a focal point for global diplomacy as world leaders, governments, international organizations, civil society, academia, philanthropy and the private sector converge for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Week. This gives us an opportunity to see how the issues discussed in the classroom (such as pandemic preparedness, health equity, humanitarian crises, climate change and mental health) translate into international policy and action.
This session will provide an accessible introduction to what UNGA is, why it matters, and why New York is such an important place to experience it. It will offer practical guidance on how to make the most of UNGA as a public health student, including the difference between the formal General Assembly proceedings and the much broader ecosystem of meetings, panels, receptions and side events that take place across the city around High-Level Week, some of which are open to the public.
The webinar will also connect UNGA to a live global health emergency: the rapidly expanding outbreak of Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. WHO has classified the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern, and the response is complicated by conflict, population displacement, geopolitics and scientific uncertainty.