Events Detail

Hudson Institute’s Center for Science in Public Policy Cordially Invites You to a Seminar and Luncheon

THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: HOW CAN THE UNITED NATIONS AGENCY FIGHT DISEASE IN THE 21ST CENTURY?                    

Thursday, May 11, 2006
8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
National Press Club
529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor
Washington, D.C.

The efforts of the World Health Organization have eradicated smallpox and are on track to eliminate polio and river blindness. But as pandemics continue to sweep the developing world and non-communicable diseases now harm more people globallythan infectious and parasitic diseases, the WHO’s limits are being tested. What lessons can be learned from the global pandemics of today to better equip the WHO to deal with the pandemics of tomorrow?

Join us for an exciting morning of diagnosis and prognosis for the WHO by leading experts from the U.S. government, NGOs, and academia. Over lunch, hear Dr. Gail Wilensky, member of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health, former head of Medicare and Medicaid under President George H. W. Bush, and one of America’s “Top 25 Women in Health” on “Transforming Healthcare in the Developing World: How Lessons from the Past Can Guide the Future.”

Panel I—Global Health in the Balance: The WHO at a Crossroads
Panelists will evaluate the WHO’s performance in fighting global pandemics.
Chair: Amir Attaran, Ph.D., professor and chair in the faculty of law and the Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa

• Nicole Bates, M.P.H., senior legislative associate, Global Health Council
• Jean-Luc Poncelet, M.D., area manager, Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief, PAHO
• Michael Ryan, Ph.D., director, Creative and Innovative Economy Center, George Washington University

Panel II—Making Health History: How the WHO Can Lead and Succeed
Panelists will explore the current status of science-based medicine at the WHO.
Chair: Carol Adelman, Dr. P.H., director, Center for Science in Public Policy   

• Mary Pendergast, J.D., former deputy commissioner, FDA
• Edward Burger, M.D., Director, Institute for Health Policy Analysis
• Roger Williams, M.D., CEO, United States Pharmacopeia

Panel III—Winning the War on Disease: Remaking the WHO for the 21st Century
Panelists will examine how the WHO can meet the challenges of fighting tomorrow’s diseases.
Chair: Henry Greenberg, M.D., associate professor of clinical medicine, Columbia University              
College of Physicians and Surgeons

• Gerard Anderson, Ph.D., director, Center for Hospital Finance and Management, Johns Hopkins University
• Kate Schecter, Ph.D., program officer, Program Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, 
  American International Health Alliance
• Kathy Hebert, M.D., health policy fellow, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
• Alex Preker, Ph.D., lead economist, Health Systems and Financing, Africa, The World Bank

Luncheon Keynote Address by Dr. Gail Wilensky, senior fellow, Project Hope
Discussion and Q & A to follow

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