On November 11, 2020, the Global and Environmental Public Health program (GEPH) had the pleasure of hosting World Health Organization Health (WHO) Systems Advisor Thomas O’Connell for the second virtual mixer of the semester. O’Connell offered great advice for professional development and career building while sharing some of his field experiences. Throughout the mixer attendees participated in an engaging conversation about pressing topics such as COVID-19, decolonization and the future of global public health.
With economic recession and domestic revenues dropping, donor funding for developing countries is starting to detract. To prepare for what is to come, O’Connell suggested professionals and students must focus on efficiency. The buzz about potential vaccines was a perfect example.
Prior to the outbreak, many countries were tackling public health obstacles of their own, which were delayed due to the pandemic. Once the vaccine enters these countries, it will be crucial to catch up treatments for these needs while concurrently introducing a new vaccine. The goal is to avoid destabilizing the existing health systems. Essentially, how do we ramp up services and add in the COVID vaccine?
O’Connell emphasized that public health students must master the skill of negotiating with stakeholders. He explained why students should utilize tools like EQUIST, in order to synthesize the quantitative and qualitative data in ways that speak to policy makers. The strategies that follow must anticipate the reactions of policy makers. These skills combined with learning how to create the right team and work together, are the best way to develop a feasible way to introduce the vaccine within existing systems. This must be done in a way that does not take away from maternal and child care, neonatal care, treatments for diarrhea, pneumonia and other common causes of morbidity and mortality.
“There is an issue of inclusiveness and an issue of diversity and while they are related, they are not the same.” As of lately, agencies are on the upward trend in terms of diversity, yet are not as inclusive. O’Connell shared how advocating for smaller consulting groups within communities and paying attention to context will guide the future development of global health. Dr. Carlos Chirinos added that community engagement and mobilization is going to be challenging. O’Connell spoke on this challenge, mentioning how the WHO has partnered with groups like The Governance Collaborative and collaborative centers with universities that work to ensure marginalized groups have proper representation in engagement efforts.
All of O’Connell’s points lead to a memorable take-away, the power of advocacy and inclusion can reframe the response to public health crises, ultimately building health system resilience for years to come.
If you’re interested in viewing the recording, please contact gph.ghinfo@nyu.edu.