Crisis to Cure: Climate, Health, and a Sustainable Future
Watch the 15th Annual McGill Global Health Night main program and 2023 Friesen Lecture on
The McGill School of Population and Global Health, McGill Global Health Programs and Friends of CIHR were delighted to co-host the 15th annual McGill Global Health Night and 2023 Friesen Prize Public Lecture. The theme of the 2023 edition was Crisis to Cure: Climate, Health, and a Sustainable Future.
Global Health Night is an annual event held by McGill Global Health Programs (GHP) that unites and honours the remarkable accomplishments of McGill’s dynamic global health community.
The Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research was established in recognition of Dr. Friesen’s distinguished leadership, vision and innovative contributions to health research and health research policy. The award, announced each spring, supports an annual fall lecture or series of lectures by a worthy and accomplished speaker of international stature on topics related to the advancement of health research and its evolving contributions to society. The Friesen Prize is a joint project of and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. .
Volunteers
Members of the McGill community could become part of the November 9 McGill Global Health Night / Friesen Lecture by volunteering and scoring a coveted GHP t-shirt. Volunteers helped with set-up, registration, poster fair, ushering of guests and take-down of the event. A huge thank you to all our volunteers!
Program
Thursday, November 9, 2023 - New Residence Hall Ballroom, 3625 Avenue du Parc, Montreal, QC
4:00 - 5:30 PM Student Poster Fair (in-person only)
Before the main program begins, attendees had the opportunity to learn about the remarkable work of McGill students and groups involved in global health, including GHP’s student award winners, during the Student Poster Fair.
5:30 - 7:30 PM Main Program
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Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta - Recipient of the 2023 Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research
Founding Director of the Institute for Global Health and Development and the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health at the Aga Khan University and Co-Director of the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health
Friesen Lecture: Climate Change and Maternal and Child Health Globally: What can and should be done -
Hon. Dr. Keith Martin, P.C.
Founding Executive Director of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH).
Keynote Lecture: Averting Disaster: How we can bend the curve on the climate-biodiversity-pollution crisis
| Time | Item | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 4:00 p.m. | Student Poster Fair (in person only) | |
| 5:30 p.m. | Welcoming remarks |
Christopher Manfredi, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic), Ď㽶ĘÓƵ |
| Opening Remarks | Lesley Fellows, Vice-Principal (Health Affairs) and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences | |
| Global Health Programs Update and reflections on 15 years of Global Health Night | Charles Larson, Director, McGill Global Health Programs | |
| Keynote Lecture: “Averting Disaster: How we can bend the curve on the climate-biodiversity-pollution crisis” | Hon. Keith Martin, P.C., Founding Executive Director of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health | |
| Overview of Friesen Prize and FCIHR | David Malkin, President, Friends of Canadian Institutes of Health Research (FCIHR) | |
| Friesen Lecture: “Climate Change and Maternal and Child Health Globally: What can and should be done” |
Zulfiqar Bhutta, Founding Director of the Institute for Global Health and Development and the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health at the Aga Khan University and Co-Director of the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health |
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| Q&A with Keynote Speakers |
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| Closing Remarks | Timothy Evans, Inaugural Director and Associate Dean, School of Population and Global Health and Associate Vice-Principal (Global Policy and Innovation) | |
| 7:30 p.m. | End of Program | |
About our Keynote Speakers
Dr. Zulfiqar A. Bhutta
Dr. Zulfiqar A. Bhutta PhD, MBBS, FRCPCH, FAAP, FRS, is the recipient of the 2023 Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research. Dr. Bhutta is the Distinguished University Professor and Founding Director of the Institute for Global Health and Development and the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health, at the Aga Khan University. He also holds the Robert Harding Inaugural Chair in Global Child Health at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, and is the Co-Director of the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health. He holds adjunct professorships at several leading Universities globally including the Schools of Public Health at Johns Hopkins (Baltimore), George Washington University (DC), Boston University School of Public Health, University of Alberta as well as the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He is a designated Distinguished National Professor of the Government of Pakistan and Chairs the Board of Governors of the National Institute of Health, Pakistan. Dr. Bhutta was a member of the Independent Expert Review Group (iERG) appointed by the UN Secretary General for monitoring global progress in maternal and child health MDGs (2011-2015). He represented the global academic and research organizations on the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (Gavi) Board and served on its Evaluation Advisory Committee. Dr. Bhutta was also the co-Chair of the Global Countdown for 2015 and 2030 Initiatives from 2006-2017, co-Chair of the Maternal and Child Health oversight committee of World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) and a technical member of the high-level UN Health and Human Rights committee. He has served as co-Chair of Knowledge and Science committee of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) and was a member of the Independent Expert Group producing the Global Nutrition Reports since its inception in 2014 to 2021. Dr Bhutta was a member of the WHO Strategic Advisory Committee for Vaccines (SAGE) from 2010-15 and is a member of STAGE, the strategic and technical advisory group for maternal, child and adolescent health of WHO. He is currently the Executive Director of the NCD Child Secretariat based at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto.
Dr. Bhutta was educated at the University of Peshawar (MBBS) and obtained his PhD from the Karolinska Institute, Sweden. He has published ten books, over 150 book chapters, and 1275 indexed publications to date. He is one of the most highly cited academics in global health (H index 203, i10 index 985, >275,000 citations) and has ranked among the top 1% of Highly Cited Researchers globally by the Web of Science consecutively since 2013. He has been a leading member of major Lancet series reflecting his advocacy in global health, whose evidence-based interventions have strengthened global Health Research Policy. Most outstanding is his work on the “first thousand days” of life. He leads large research groups based in Canada, Pakistan & Central Asia with a special interest in research synthesis, scaling up evidence-based interventions in community settings and implementation research in fragile health systems. He led the recent Lancet series on optimizing child and adolescent health (2022) which provides a blueprint for post COVID-19 recovery for children globally.
Dr. Bhutta has received numerous awards over the years, most recently being recognized by the Senate of Canada with its Canada 150 Medal for contributions to Global Child Health, admitted to the National Academy of Medicine and elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was awarded the Roux Prize 2021 for his work on evidence-based public health impact and is the recipient of the 2022 John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health award. He is ranked among the top 100 medical scientists globally by Research.com.
Hon. Keith Martin P.C.
Hon. Keith Martin P.C. is the founding Executive Director of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), based in Washington, DC.
Between 1993-2011, he served as a Member of Parliament in Canada’s House of Commons representing a riding in British Columbia. He held shadow ministerial portfolios in foreign affairs, international development, and health and served as Canada’s Parliamentary Secretary for Defense. He is a member of the Queen’s Privy Council. His primary areas of interest are global health, foreign policy, international development, conservation and the environment.
Dr. Martin has been on numerous diplomatic missions to areas in crisis, practiced as a physician on the Mozambique border during that country’s civil war and has travelled widely in Africa. He spent many years volunteering on conservation efforts in South Africa.
He has authored more than 170 published editorial pieces and has appeared frequently as a commentator on television and radio. Dr Martin has been a longstanding advocate for action on climate change.
