QoG-Lancet Policy Day 2024: Policy pathways to sustainable well-being and peace

Welcome to the Policy Day organized by the Quality of Government Institute and the Lancet Commission on Peaceful Societies through Health Equity and Gender Equality on the theme: “Policy pathways to sustainable well-being and peace: "How do we protect or even improve institutional quality, health equity and gender equality under crisis and conflict?"

We are excited to announce that a Policy Day co-organized by the Quality of Government Institute at the University of Gothenburg and the Lancet Commission on Peaceful Societies through Health Equity and Gender Equality will be held in Gothenburg on November 26^th, 2024. During this day, academics and practitioners will discuss the findings and policy implications of the Lancet Commission Report on Peaceful Societies through Health Equity and Gender Equality (The Lancet Commission on peaceful societies through health equity and gender equality - The Lancet) and build on this foundation by looking more deeply into how we protect or even improve institutional quality, health equity and gender equality under crisis and conflict.

This Lancet Commission was launched to understand the interaction between SDG 3 on Good Health and Well-Being, SDG 5 on Gender Equality and SDG 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. The commission’s research established an empirical foundation for the mutually beneficially reinforcing relationship between health equity, gender equality, and peace and the mutually harmfully reinforcing relationship between health inequity, gender inequality and violence. The report also contributed to international global policy development by providing practical and actionable guidance and recommendations to communities, civil society groups, states and international institutions on how to transition societies from the harmful to the beneficial cycles as depicted in the figure below.

Join us for this Policy Day that will engage with and develop this framework for informing policy pathways to sustainable well-being and peace! 

Program

“Policy pathways to sustainable well-being and peace: How do we protect or even improve institutional quality, health equity and gender equality under crisis and conflict?”

Date, Location and Time: November 26^th, Wallenberg Conference Center at GU, 9.30am-4.30pm with a following Mingle from 4.30pm-5.15pm

9.30am – 10am Arrival and Coffee

10am – 11.45am: Introduction and opening presentations in conference room “Europa”

10.00-10.10 Introduction from Director of the Quality of Government Institute and Co-Chair of the Lancet Commission (Professors Victor Lapuente and Peter Friberg)

10.10-11.45 Opening session presentations facilitated by Prof. Espen Bjertness

10.10-10.30 Presentation of the Lancet Commission Report on peaceful societies through health equity and gender equality by Commissioners Amy Alexander (Associate Professor, University of Gothenburg) and Sara Causevic (Postdoctoral Fellow, Stockholm University)

Discussion with audience comments and questions (10 minutes)

10.40-11.10 Presentation from World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (WHO EMRO) by Moa Herrgård) on health emergencies in the region and the ongoing work to address those health emergencies and by Dr. Arturo Pesigan on the case of Yemen

Discussion with audience comments and questions (10 minutes)

11.20- 11.35 Presentation from Karin Tegmark Wisell, Sweden’s Ambassador for Global Health on “How does the Swedish reform agenda – Development assistance for a new era - Freedom, empowerment and sustainable growth - support the work for peaceful societies through health equity and gender equality?”

Discussion with audience comments and questions (10 minutes)

11.45 – 1pm Lunch (On site at the Conference Venue)

1pm – 2.20pm Panel 1 also in conference room “Europa”

Panel 1, 1pm – 2.20pm in room “Europa”: Women’s Inclusion and Health as a Bridge to Peace (Facilitators Amy Alexander and Sara Causevic)

Valeriya Mechkova (Assistant Professor, University of Gothenburg) on the influence of women’s political representation on health-care outcomes (15 minute presentation)

Kristen Kao (Associate Professor, University of Gothenburg) on women’s inclusion in post-conflict reconciliation in the Middle East (15 minute presentation)

Discussion with audience comments and questions (10 minutes)

Mathilde Boddaert, Technical Officer for the Global Health and Peace Initiative (GHPI), World Health Organization, on WHO’s contributions to peace and the Global Health and Peace Initiative (GHPI) (15 minute presentation)

Espen Bjertness (Professor, University of Oslo), “Attack on the health system - Myanmar, Gaza and beyond” (15 minute presentation)

Discussion with audience comments and questions (10 minutes)

2.20pm-2.40pm, 20-minute coffee break followed by panels in parallel rooms that run from 2.40pm-4.00pm. The rooms are called “Sydamerika”, “Nordamerika”, and “Asien”. Which rooms will host panels 2, 3 and 4 will be announced at the end of Panel 1.

Panel 2, 2.40-4.00pm room TBA at end of Panel 1: Health system resilience, governance and humanitarian action under fragile contexts (Facilitator Sara Causevic)

Abeer Ahmad (Researcher, Stockholm International Peace Research (SIPRI)), on how health system resilience mitigates the impact of conflict on healthcare access (15 minute presentation)

Daniel Carelli (Postdoctoral Researcher, Chalmers University) on global health governance and the case of antimicrobial resistance under Conflict/Crisis (15 minute presentation)

Discussion with audience comments and questions (10 minutes)

Ulrika Modéer (Secretary General of the Swedish Red Cross), Title TBA (15 minute presentation)

Annika Sandlund (Representative to Nordic and Baltic countries, UNHCR, and UN Refugee Agency), “Refugee health – from humanitarian action to inclusion” (15 minutes)

Discussion with audience comments and questions (10 minutes)

Panel 3, 2.40pm – 4.00pm room TBA at end of Panel 1: Policy pathways to institutional quality through the engagement of civil society and citizens under fragile contexts (Facilitator Andreas Bågenholm)

Monika Bauhr (Professor, University of Gothenburg) on social bargaining, sexual corruption and access to public services (15 minute presentation)

Marcia Grimes (Professor, University of Gothenburg) on civil society and bottom-up accountability (15 minute presentation)  

Discussion with audience comments and questions (10 minutes)

Annekatrin Deglow (Assistant Professor, Uppsala University) on violent elections and citizens’ commitment to democracy (15 minute presentation)

Nicholas Charron and Victor Lapuente (Professors, University of Gothenburg) on trust, polarization, populism and COVID-19 deaths across European regions (15 minutes)

Discussion with audience comments and questions (10 minutes)

Panel 4, 2.40pm – 4.00pm room TBA at end of Panel 1: Humanitarian Assistance and Development Cooperation in Fragile Contexts (Facilitator Amy Alexander)

Anna Svensson (Senior Public Health Advisor, Swedish Red Cross), on humanitarian assistance before, under and after crisis (15 minutes)

Dr. Saidkasim Sakhipov (Country Representative, UNFPA Country Office Moldova), “Building a Foundation: Protecting the Vulnerable When It Matters Most” (15 minute presentation)

Discussion with audience comments and questions (10 minutes)

Gunilla Backman (Policy Specialist, The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)) on fragility and crises as a window of opportunity for gender equality and the right to health (15 minute presentation)

Anna Persson and Hayden Buker (Quality of Government Institute, Gothenburg University), on the evaluation of Swedish Development Cooperation (15 minutes presentation)

Discussion with audience comments and questions (10 minutes)

4.00pm-4.10pm break and transition back to conference room “Europa”

4.10pm-4.30pm: Closing remarks and discussion in conference room “Europa”

4.30pm – 5.15pm: Mingle with finger food and drinks