Global Health Histories FAQs

On 24 April 2018 a Global Health Histories seminar will be held for the first time in York, UK (See - www.york.ac.uk/history/global-health-histories/events/ghh-104-tobacco-control/). This will give a lot of our UK-based followers the first chance to attend one in person. For some it will be their first time engaging with the series. So we’ve put together his quick look at the series’ history and as well as some frequently asked questions.

What are the Global Health Histories Seminars?

The Global Health Histories project (or GHH) was launched back in 2004 to bring together academics, policymakers, public health professionals and members of the public from all over the world to foster useful discussions on topical global health issues, and create opportunities for historians and policy makers to connect with and learn from each other. Over the course of almost a hundred events to date it has provided a framework for academic research to be made available freely to policymakers beyond the conventional academic avenues.

What is their purpose?

The underlying goal of the Global Health Histories project is based on the idea that understanding the history of health, especially during the last 60 years, can help the global public health community respond to present-day challenges. The enduring value to the series is in using different perspectives to tackle issues about how disease has spread, how illness is experienced, and how it is managed across different cultures and time periods.

Which topics have been covered?

Too many to mention all of them here! There have now been over one hundred seminars. Some annual series have focussed on specific areas, such as neglected tropical diseases and the road to universal health coverage, whereas individual seminars have explored topics such as antimicrobial resistance, health communication, healthy ageing and yellow fever. Out next seminar, on 24th April 2018, concerns tobacco control. In many cases you can access recordings via our YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/CGHHYork.

Where are the seminars usually held?

The seminars are usually held at the WHO Regional Office for Europe in Copenhagen, but from time to time seminars are run all over the world. In some cases these events will be broadcast live over the internet, but when this is not possible a recording is usually made and then added to our YouTube channel shortly afterwards.

Who can access these seminars?

Anyone can tune in to the online broadcasts, however please do check beforehand whether or not you will be able to attend in person. The next seminar in York is open to the public: you can register at: www.york.ac.uk/history/global-health-histories/events/ghh-104-tobacco-control/

I won’t be available to log in to the live broadcast but have a question for the panel?

Just email cghh@york.ac.uk. When a seminar is broadcast live you will be informed beforehand seminars are broadcast live so you can also Tweet your question.

Have you just run seminars?

No, we have produced a range of books based on some of the themes and presentations covered in the seminars. They are all free to access online and are multilingual. See www.york.ac.uk/history/global-health-histories/publications-outreach/ for further details.

How do I get more information on upcoming seminars and connected projects?
If you’d like to join the event mailing lists please write us an email at cghh@york.ac.uk. Our website (www.york.ac.uk/history/global-health-histories/) is regularly updated. You can also follow updates via social media, on Facebook (@TheCentreForGlobalHealthHistories) and Twitter (@CGHH_York). For past GHH recordings visit our YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/CGHHYork)

Who runs and funds the project?

The project is a collaboration between the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Health Histories (which is housed in the Department of History at the University of York) and the WHO Regional Office for Europe. The project is supported by the Wellcome Trust, one of the largest charitable foundations in the world.

Spring 2018 at the Centre for Global Health Histories

It has been a busy start to the year at the Centre for Global Health Histories, with new outputs to celebrate and new colleagues to welcome. We provide a digest below; full particulars on these and all CGHH news and events can be found at www.york.ac.uk/history/global-health-histories/.

New publications

Professor Sanjoy Bhattacharya contributed a chapter ‘Global and local histories of medicine: interpretative challenges and future possibilities’ in A Global History of Medicine edited by Mark Jackson.

Dr Alexander Medcalf’s open access article ‘Between art and information: communicating world health, 1948–70’ was published in the Journal of Global History (Volume 13, Issue 1 (2018), pp. 94-120) and is available to view online via Cambridge Core.

Dr Margaret Jones and Chandani Liyanage’s article, ‘Traditional Medicine and Primary Health Care in Sri Lanka: Policy, Perceptions, and Practice’, was published in the Asian Review of World Histories’ website. This is also an open access article available to all to view.

New team members

Dr Rebecca Wright joined CGHH in January as a Research Fellow in Future Health. Her two-year fellowship was awarded by the Centre of Future Health, an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of York (co-funded with the Wellcome Trust) supporting innovative research on future health challenges. Rebecca’s research will examine the intersections between the histories of energy and health.

Deika Mohamed was awarded the Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement by the Canadian Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and has joined CGHH as a Visiting Scholar until May 2018. Deika will conduct archival research across Europe while working under the direction of CGHH’s Director Sanjoy Bhattacharya.

New lectures

In January Sanjoy Bhattacharya delivered a lecture ‘History Matters: WHO EMRO and the Worldwide Eradication of Smallpox’ to WHO staff during a visit to the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. He was subsequently invited to record it for the WHO EMRO YouTube channel and it is now available to view online. The video provides a historical overview of smallpox eradication, and sheds light on various public health, social and political factors which contributed to this landmark global health achievement.

At the end February, Sanjoy also represented CGHH at two events at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and a further talk at the Center for Culture-Centred Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE). The first event, a public lecture on 27th February, re-visited the worldwide eradication of smallpox, exploring the idea of ethically prepared histories as roadmaps for global health. The second event, on 28th February, took the form of a roundtable with Sanjoy, Ivy Yeh, Michael Stanley-Baker, Park Hyung Wook and Fang Xiaoping of Nanyang Technological University tackling the provocative subject ‘Are Medical History and Humanities Useful?’ At the third event at CARE on the 1st March event Sanjoy delivered a public lecture titled "Repositioning the World's Health: Empires, Democracy and the Making of the World Health Organization".