The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) hosted a webinar on “Global Health Priorities for G20: Insights from South East Asia,” on 21st November | 4 – 5:30 PM (IST).

India’s G20 Presidency is an opportune moment for the country to contribute to strengthening the agenda for global health. G20 members and experts within India will contribute to this discourse, but these processes do not always include input and perspectives from countries in the global south who are not members of G20. An inclusive process is important, in widening the range of input will help develop a set of priorities for the global health agenda that resonates with a large number of countries; countries that are impacted by global health processes and yet not typically able to contribute to the discussions that govern such processes.

Regional dialogues on global governance and financing for health emergencies; building resilient health systems; and research, development and distribution of drugs and medical supplies can help inform the priority setting process for global health. This discussion highlights insights and perspectives on these issues from the South and South East Asian region.

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_m0lWLHubS2uYUwuT5NHubA

Chair:

Amitabh Kant:  Amitabh Kant is G20 Sherpa for India. He was CEO, NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India)- the Govt of India’s premier policy Think Tank & prior to that Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion. He is the author of Branding India – An Incredible Story, Incredible India 2.0 and has edited The Path Ahead “Transformative Ideas for India” and has been a key driver of “Make in India”, Startup India, “Incredible India” and “God’s Own Country” initiatives which positioned and branded India and Kerala State as leading manufacturing tourism destinations.

Speakers:

Eduardo Banzon: Eduardo Banzom is Principal Health Specialist, Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank. He has championed UHC and has long provided technical support to countries in Asia and the Pacific in their pursuit of this goal. Before joining ADB, he was President and CEO of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, WHO regional adviser for health financing, World Bank senior health specialist, and a faculty member of the University of the Philippines’ College of Medicine and the Ateneo University Graduate School of Business.

Jerome Kim: Jerome H. Kim, is the Director General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). He served as the Principal Deputy and Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Pathogenesis at MHRP, in addition to being the Project Manager for the HIV Vaccines and Advanced Concepts Evaluation Project Management Offices, U.S. Army Medical Material Development Activity USA. Dr. Kim was a Professor within the Division of Infectious Diseases of the Department of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. In 2013 he received the John Maher Award for Research Excellence from the Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Through his career to date, Dr. Kim has authored over 200 publications.

Jeremy Lim: Jeremy Lim is the Director of the Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation (LIGHT) at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health where he works to enhance cooperation, capacity building and knowledge sharing across the region. He is the co-founder and CEO of AMiLi, the first dedicated gut microbiome full service company in Southeast Asia. Prior to AMiLi, he was founding partner of global consultancy Oliver Wyman’s Asia health and life sciences practice. He has worked in executive roles in both public and private sectors, including as a senior official in the Ministry of Health, Singapore. He serves on the boards of/advises various charities, social enterprises, health technology companies and programmes in the region and globally. Jeremy has a special interest in ways that technology can increase health equity and access to care.

Discussant

Soonman Kwon: Prof Kwon is a health economist who has worked over 30 years on UHC, health finance and systems, and health industry. He was previously Professor and Former Dean of the School of Public Health, Seoul National University (SNU). He has held visiting positions at the Harvard School of Public Health, London School of Economics, University of Toronto, University of Tokyo, and Peking University. He was the Chief of the Health Sector Group in the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2016-2017, and the founding director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Health System and Financing at SNU. He is the president of the Korean Society of Health Policy and Management and has served as president of the Korean Health Economic Association, the Korean Association of Schools of Public Health, and the Korean Gerontological Society.

Moderator:

Sandhya Venkateswaran: Sandhya Venkateswaran is a Senior Fellow at Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) and leads the Human Development work at CSEP, with a specific focus on Health Policy. In a career spanning over three decades, she has worked on a wide range of issues in the social sector across health, nutrition, gender, natural resources, urban development and others, and has authored books, multiple articles and other publications on varied social sector issues. Over the last 15 years her focus has been on policy issues, developing and leading the policy and advocacy portfolio in organisations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition and CARE. She has worked with grassroots campaigns and civil society organisations, as well as with government and international organisations. She is currently a member of the Lancet Citizens’ Commission on Reimagining India’s Health System.

For any general or media queries, please reach out to Trishna Wahengbam at twahengbam@csep.org.

All content reflects the individual views of the speakers. The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) does not hold an institutional view on any subject.