UNU Global Health

Shaping the Future of Global Health Leadership 🌍 Our Director, Dr. Revati Phalkey (@RPhalkey), participated in the panel discussion "𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘣: 𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺'𝘴 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩" this week, held as part of 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 in Berlin. The session brought together international experts to reflect on Germany's role in advancing global health in an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. During the discussion, Dr. Phalkey emphasized the importance of strengthening global health through: 🔹 Reinforcing multilateral cooperation and supporting the World Health Organization (WHO) as the cornerstone of global health governance. 🔹 Investing in resilient health systems, pandemic preparedness, climate-resilient health systems, and sustainable health financing as essential global priorities. 🔹 Promoting greater policy coherence across sectors and levels of government through a whole-of-government and whole-of-society response to health security, while strengthening equitable access to universal health coverage. 🔹 Advancing more inclusive and decentralized decision-making processes, with stronger participation of countries and communities in shaping the global health agenda. The discussion also highlighted the need to move beyond viewing global health financing as charity, recognizing it instead as a strategic investment in healthier, more resilient, and more equitable societies. Dr. Phalkey was joined by co-panellists Dr. Unni Karunakara (@UnniKarunakara), Senior Fellow at the Global Health Justice Partnership at Yale Law School (@YaleLawSch), and Dr. Francisco Pérez-Cañado, Adviser to the Director-General on the External Dimension of Health at the European Commission (@EU_Commission). The discussion was moderated by Mr. Paul Zubeil (@PaulZubeil), Deputy Director-General for European and International Health Policy at the German Federal Ministry of Health (@BMG_Bund).

Strengthening Collaboration for Public Health Education and Research in Mozambique 🇲🇿 Our Director, Dr. Revati Phalkey (@RPhalkey), visited the Faculty of Medicine at Eduardo Mondlane University (@uemmoz) in Maputo, Mozambique, where she was welcomed by Prof. Jahit Sacarlal, Dean of the Faculty, and members of the 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 (𝘊𝘗𝘐𝘈) 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 team, including Prof. Baltazar Chilundo, Principal Investigator; Dr. Fatima Abacassamo, Project Coordinator; and researchers involved in phases 1 and 2 of the project. The visit provided an opportunity to learn more about the Faculty’s work in postgraduate education, research, and extension activities, and to discuss the ongoing CPIA project. Implemented by Eduardo Mondlane University and other Global South partners, with support from @UNUGlobalHealth, CPIA Phase 2 is led by Prof. David McCoy (@dcmccoy11) and Dr. Claudia Abreu Lopes (@cabreulopes), Policy Research Leads at UNU Global Health, and Dr. Paula Morgado, Project Coordinator. The project aims to improve policy outcomes in maternal, newborn, child, adolescent sexual, and reproductive health across two African countries: 𝗠𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 and 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗼. In Mozambique, CPIA supports six embedded implementation research projects across seven provinces addressing priority adolescent mental health and adolescent sexual and reproductive health challenges, while strengthening national implementation science capacity through the engagement of MPH students, national mentors, and implementers. Discussions also explored a long-term strategic partnership between Eduardo Mondlane University and UNU Global Health, including opportunities to undertake multi-country implementation research, expand postgraduate education, promote faculty and student exchanges, jointly supervise Master’s, PhD, and postdoctoral researchers, and provide executive training for policymakers and health programme managers. Further areas of potential collaboration included digital health and responsible artificial intelligence, evidence-informed policymaking, South–South cooperation, and stronger Lusophone research and policy networks.

On behalf of @UNUGlobalHealth’s leadership, we are delighted to congratulate Dr. Mariangela Batista Galvao Simao (@mariangelasimao), a valued member of our International Advisory Board, on her appointment by the United Nations Human Rights Council (@UN_HRC) as the new 𝗨𝗡 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘂𝗿 on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. This is a richly deserved recognition of Dr. Simão's decades of leadership in global health and human rights. Her insight and expertise have been invaluable to our Advisory Board, and we look forward to her continued impact in this vital new role. Congratulations, Dr Simão!

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻🤝📈 Last week, @UNUGlobalHealth partnered with the Health Performance Unit, Ministry Of Health, Malaysia (@KKMPutrajaya), to deliver a five-day 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗠&𝗘) 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 in Kuala Lumpur, bringing together 60 participants from the Ministry of Health, academia, and international organizations. The course aimed to strengthen participants' knowledge and practical skills in measuring programme and policy impact and advancing evidence-based decision-making in public health and related fields. Throughout the week, participants engaged in interactive sessions led by Dr. Claudia Abreu Lopes @cabreulopes (UNU Global Health) and Dr Saravanan SR Sundaramurthy (@KKMPutrajaya) covering M&E frameworks, results-based management and stakeholder-based participatory approaches, implementation research, data systems, ethics and standards, risk assessment, competency frameworks, and the emerging applications of artificial intelligence for evaluation. Participants also benefited from the expertise of Dr. Arnaud Vaganay (What Works Centre for Children and Families, UK), Mr. Calum Handforth @CalumAH (UNDP), Prof. Dr. Savita Bailur @SavitaBailur (@ColumbiaSIPA), and Ms. Najiihah Ahmad (@ColumbiaSIPA). The discussion with these experts centered around case studies and group work on evaluation personalities (𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘌𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺? (𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘐𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬: go.unu.edu/Km1a8), evaluation of AI-based healthcare interventions, and gender bias in LLMs (𝘉𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯, 𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘓𝘔𝘴 - 𝘔𝘌𝘙𝘓 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩: go.unu.edu/QywQL). We thank all participants, speakers, and partners for their engagement and contributions throughout the course, fostering a rich environment for learning and exchange.

Dr. Revati Phalkey (@RPhalkey), Director of @UNUGlobalHealth, together with Dr. Thandazile Sibindi, Policy Research Associate and Ms. Vithiya Sathivelu, Head of Strategy and Partnerships, met with Datuk Dr. Mahathar Abd Wahab, Director-General of Health; Dr. Juliana Paul, Deputy Director of Global Health; and Dr. Shaifuzah Binti Ariffin, Deputy Director, Digital Health Division, in Putrajaya last week to discuss a potential two-year workplan between UNU Global Health and the @KKMPutrajaya. The discussion mapped strategic alignment across shared priorities of climate and health, gender and health, digital health governance, and noncommunicable diseases and translated them into concrete next steps: a joint workshop on global adaptation indicators; a co-certified Master's programme in Global Health with @UKM_MY, with MOH experts facilitating select sessions; and climate and health modules for integration into health professions curricula, alongside continued support for Malaysia’s National Adaptation Plan (MyNAP) process. The meeting reaffirms a shared commitment to translating research into policy impact and to deepening this partnership in the years ahead.

📌 Happening next week! Our Director, Dr. Revati Phalkey (@RPhalkey), will be joining the panel discussion "𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘣: 𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺'𝘴 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩" at the Global Health Talk 2026, organized by the 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝘂𝗯 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆. The discussion will explore Germany's leadership role in global health and how international cooperation can help address today's evolving global health challenges. Dr. Phalkey will join co-panellists Dr. Unni Karunakara (@UnniKarunakara), Senior Fellow of the Global Health Justice Partnership at @YaleLawSch, and Dr. Francisco Pérez-Cañado, Adviser to the Director-General on the External Dimension of Health at the @EU_Commission. The discussion will be moderated by Mr. Paul Zubeil (@PaulZubeil), Deputy Director-General for European and International Health Policy at the @BMG_Bund. 🗓 8 July 2026 | 🕘 09:45–11:00 (CEST) | 📍 Berlin, Germany

As governments seek new ways to finance universal health coverage, increasing reliance on private finance capital could undermine equity, affordability, and the long-term resilience of health systems, according to a recent editorial published in The BMJ (@bmj_latest). The article, co-authored by Prof. David McCoy @dcmccoy11 (@UNUGlobalHealth), Dr. Aquina Thulare (Department of Health South Africa @HealthZA) and Prof. Lena Lavinas (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro @ufrj), examines the risks of growing financial sector influence in healthcare and argues that stronger public stewardship and regulation are essential to safeguard universal health coverage. 🔗 Read the full article here: go.unu.edu/UTEzC

Yesterday, @UNUGlobalHealth was honoured to welcome Mr. 𝗡𝗶𝗸𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘀 𝗠𝘆𝗶𝗻𝘁, the incoming United Nations Resident Coordinator for @UNinMalaysia, on his first official visit to our offices in Kuala Lumpur. The visit provided a valuable opportunity to discuss UNU Global Health’s Strategic Plan 2024–2028 and ongoing work in #Malaysia. Our Director, Dr. Revati Phalkey (@RPhalkey), highlighted that developing a common coordinated position across the UN Country Team is critical to advancing evidence-informed policies and addressing the interconnected challenges of climate change, health equity, and sustainable development in Malaysia and the wider region. Our Policy Research Leads, Prof. David McCoy (@dcmccoy11) and Dr. Johanna Riha (@johanna_riha), emphasized the importance of working together on key priorities such as addressing the commercial drivers of disease and illness, strengthening international health cooperation at the regional level, advancing gender integration into health policies and programmes, and supporting the resilience and wellbeing of health workers to accelerate the translation of evidence into policy and action at the country level. We look forward to working closely with the Resident Coordinator and the UN Country Team!

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 | 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 (𝗡𝗖𝗗𝘀) @UNUGlobalHealth convened a two-day workshop this month in Kuala Lumpur to strengthen capacity in strategic foresight, artificial intelligence (AI), and the use of digital health data for forecasting non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Malaysian context. The workshop brought together health professionals, academics, and policymakers to support evidence-informed public health decision-making. The workshop covered: 🔹 Strategic foresight approaches used in public health research 🔹 Regression analysis with time-series and multilevel modelling to understand risk factors for NCDs 🔹Machine learning and big health data for forecasting the burden of NCDs 🔹 Digital health data governance principles and their application in public health 🔹 Hands-on data analysis exercises and group projects using datasets relevant to Malaysia 📖 Related reading: 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘈 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘢 go.unu.edu/Kgqqg

Food-system resilience should mean more than keeping supply chains moving 🌾🥗 In a new article for the online bulletin @ThinkGlobalHlth, Ronald Tundang (@ronaldtundang), Policy Research Fellow at @UNUGlobalHealth, argues that Indonesia’s food system should be judged not only by rice availability, price stability, and reduced dependence on imports, but also by whether it supports affordable, diverse, and healthy diets. Drawing on Indonesia’s experience with COVID-19, climate-related shocks, food-price pressures, and the Free Nutritious Meals programme, the piece asks what a public-health test for food resilience should look like. The article highlights why nutrition, noncommunicable diseases, school meals, public procurement, and food-system governance need to be treated as core components of resilience. 🔗 Read the full article here: go.unu.edu/OBdin

A recent research article published in @FrontiersIn explores how data-driven, multisectoral approaches can strengthen adolescent-friendly health services and improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes in low-resource settings. Co-authored by 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗔𝗯𝗿𝗲𝘂 𝗟𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀 @cabreulopes (UNU Global Health), 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹𝗮 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗱𝗼 (UNU Global Health), 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗮𝘇𝗮𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗼, 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮 𝗫𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗲, 𝗟𝘂𝗶́𝘀𝗮 𝗛𝘂𝗼, 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮 𝗔𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗼, 𝗟𝘂𝗰 𝗩𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗲, the article evaluates the S-NICE decision-support intervention, a structured, participatory approach that uses routine data, multisectoral coordination and local action planning to strengthen adolescent-friendly health services in rural areas of Mozambique. This publication is part of the IDRC-funded 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 (𝗖𝗣𝗜𝗔) 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁, implemented by the 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲 (@uemmoz) and other Global South partners, supported by UNU Global Health, which aims to improve policy outcomes in maternal, newborn, sexual and reproductive health across five African countries. 🔗 Read the full article here: go.unu.edu/H14iP

🎉 𝟮𝟬 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 Recently, @UNUGlobalHealth (formerly UNU-IIGH), together with The @WorldBank, @KfW, and the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (@Heidelberg_HIGH), co-hosted the 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗕𝘂𝘆𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 in Kuala Lumpur. Held as part of the Institute’s 20th anniversary celebrations, the meeting brought together leading experts and partners to advance dialogue and action at the intersection of climate and health. Here, we share participants’ reflections as the Institute enters its third decade of connecting evidence, policy and action for better health outcomes worldwide. Our sincere thanks to all colleagues and partners who joined us in celebrating this important milestone! @RPhalkey | @ynassef | @TafMabhaudhi |@FlaviaBustreo | @feisul | @premesh | @N_Kabeer | @mariangelasimao | @AwaMCollSeck

📢⏲️𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗡𝗢𝗪! | 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗩𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘 Join our upcoming 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗠&𝗘) 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲, taking place from 29 June – 03 July 2026 in Kuala Lumpur. This free course is organised by @UNUGlobalHealth in collaboration with the Malaysian Health Performance Unit (HPU) of the Ministry Of Health, Malaysia (@KKMPutrajaya). This comprehensive training programme is designed to bring together professionals from government, academia, and international organisations to strengthen skills in tracking programme performance, measuring impact, and advancing evidence-based decision-making in public health and related fields. 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: • Strengthen capacity to design and implement robust M&E frameworks • Learn new approaches to use AI for Evaluation with real-world applications • Foster cross-sector collaboration and knowledge exchange 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀: 📅 29 June – 03 July 2026 🕗 08:00 – 17:00 📍 Kuala Lumpur (venue details will be shared via email) 📌 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿. Secure your spot by completing the registration form via this link: go.unu.edu/dNz4v

Strengthening Climate and Health Governance in South and Southeast Asia 🌏 Our Director, Dr. Revati Phalkey (@RPhalkey), opened the 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲–𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮 in Kuala Lumpur today. Co-convened by @AsianHealthCol, in collaboration with @UNUGlobalHealth and partners, the workshop brings together government representatives from 12 countries, researchers, practitioners, and development partners to advance regional cooperation on climate and health. During her opening remarks, Dr. Phalkey highlighted the urgent need to strengthen climate-resilient and equitable health systems in response to growing climate-related health risks, while reaffirming the commitment of UNU Global Health to support countries through: 🔹 Advancing health-centred climate governance and ensuring health remains at the heart of climate policy and decision-making processes. 🔹 Supporting countries in translating global commitments, including the COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health, the Belém Health Action Plan, and the WHA Global Plan of Action, into meaningful national implementation. 🔹 Strengthening climate-resilient, sustainable, and equitable health systems through improved governance, financing, surveillance, information systems, and service delivery. 🔹 Promoting equity, justice, and Global South leadership while ensuring that women, girls, and structurally excluded communities are meaningfully included in climate and health policymaking. 🔹 Fostering regional learning, peer exchange, and knowledge networks to accelerate climate and health action across South and Southeast Asia. Over the next two days, participants will explore how to operationalize regional commitments, align health systems strengthening with climate resilience, strengthen governance and accountability mechanisms, and advance practical solutions for protecting communities most affected by climate change.

UNU Global Health at #GHS2026 | 🗒️ Recap Last week, @UNUGlobalHealth organized an event during the Global Health Security Conference 2026 in Kuala Lumpur titled “𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀.” This session explored key governance challenges, including health data governance, AI regulation, ethics, and data protection, with a particular focus on Global South perspectives and experiences. Dr. Claudia Abreu Lopes (@cabreulopes), Policy Research Lead at UNU Global Health, highlighted that responsible AI in healthcare requires strong governance frameworks, ethical safeguards, and data systems that protect equity, trust, and public value. The discussion explored how countries can move from digital health ambitions to coordinated action by strengthening collaboration and building workforce capacity, ensuring technologies respond to real health system needs. Panelists also emphasized the importance of balancing innovation with sustainability and ensuring that health data remains governed in the public interest. The event brought together representatives and experts from government, United Nations, and civil society/regional digital health network, and academia, including: Mr. Jai Ganesh Udayasankaran, Executive Director, @WeAreAeHIN; Prof. Victor Hoe, Head of the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, @unimalaya; Ms. Kathryn Johnson, Policy Specialist, @UNDPasiapac; and Dr. Mahesh Appannan, Director of the Digital Health Department, @KKMPutrajaya.

📌 Happening next week! The Asian Collective for Health Systems (@asianhealthcol), in collaboration with @UNUGlobalHealth, the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (@CSEP_Org), @WHO - Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (@AP_Observatory), Sunway Centre for Planetary Health (@SunwayCPH ), Monash University Malaysia (@MonashMalaysia), and REACH: The Regional Hub for Asia Climate Change and Health, is convening a closed-door Regional Workshop on Climate–Health Governance and Cooperation in South and Southeast Asia. Representing UNU Global Health, Dr. Revati Phalkey (@RPhalkey), Director; Dr. Remco van de Pas (@Rvandepas), Policy Research Lead; Dr. Thandazile Sibindi (@ThandySibindi), Policy Research Associate; and Dr. Kingsley Orievulu, Policy Research Fellow, will participate in this event, which will bring together government representatives from 12 countries, researchers, practitioners, and development partners from across the region. The workshop will provide a space for dialogue and peer learning to explore how countries can strengthen climate-health governance, build resilient health systems, and translate emerging global commitments into actionable national and regional priorities. 🗓 22–23 June 2026 | 📍 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

UNU Global Health at #GHS2026 | 🗒️ Recap Last week, @UNUGlobalHealth organized a panel during the Global Health Security Conference 2026 in Kuala Lumpur titled “𝗔 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀.” The discussion explored how current One Health approaches can include action on the upstream social, ecological and structural drivers of pandemic and climate risks. Speakers examined how holistic and rights-based approaches can strengthen health security while tackling the underlying determinants of health across human, animal and environmental systems. Dr. Remco van de Pas (@Rvandepas), Policy Research Lead at UNU Global Health, emphasized that the majority of One Health approaches are dominated by a biomedical scientific discourse with only limited representation of environmental and earth-system disciplines, not to mention social and political science expertise. As a continuation of this dialogue, a dedicated seminar further extended the conversation on “Structural One Health” beyond the GHS2026 panel, interrogating the political economy, legal, biodiversity, and local knowledge aspects within One Health implementation. The events brought together representatives and experts from international organizations, civil society and academia, including Dr. Cushla Coffey, Australian Centre for Disease Control, Prof. Unnikrishnan Payyappallimana (@payyappallimana), The University of Transdisciplinary Health Sciences and Technology (@TDUPGConnect), Bengaluru, India; Prof. Dr. Hidayatulfathi Othman, Centre for Toxicology & Health Risk Studies, Faculty of Health Science, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (@ukm_my); and Prof Gorik Ooms, Health Policy Unit at Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp (@ITMantwerp).