Corruption in global health: the open secret
On Wednesday 27 November, the Academy of Medical Sciences, in partnership with The Lancet, will host the 2019 International Health Lecture in London. Book now.
The International Health Lecture provides a platform for leaders in global health to discuss topics of international significance, promoting debate, discussion and the exchange of ideas on current research. For more information about the lecture series, including past events, please visit this page.
This year's lecture is presented by Professor Patricia J. García, former Minister of Health of Peru and former Chief of the Peruvian National Institute of Health. She is currently a Professor of the School of Public Health at Cayetano Heredia University (UPCH) in Lima-Peru.
“Corruption is embedded in health systems. All my life, as a researcher, as a public health worker, and as a Minister of Health, I have been able to see entrenched dishonesty and fraud. But despite being one of the most important barriers to implementing universal health coverage around the world, corruption is rarely openly discussed.
In this lecture, I will outline the magnitude of the problem, how it started and what is happening now. I will also discuss people’s fears around the topic and what is needed to address corruption: what are the responsibilities of the academic and research communities in both the global south and global north? If we are really aiming to achieve the sustainable development goals and ensure healthy lives for all, corruption in global health must no longer be an open secret.”
- Professor García
The event is free to attend and open to the public, but booking is essential.
Read more about Professor Patricia J. García on this page and book your place at the lecture here.
Download the flyer for this event from the right hand side of this page. For more information, please contact Dr Sarah Ritchie at sarah.ritchie@acmedsci.ac.uk.
Professor Patricia J. García, a leader in Global Health
Professor García is former Minister of Health of Peru and former Chief of the Peruvian National Institute of Health. She is currently a Professor of the School of Public Health at Cayetano Heredia University (UPCH) in Lima-Peru.
She has been member of the PAHO Foundation Technical Advisory Group (FTAG), board member of the Consortium of Universities in Global Health, and President of the Latin American Association Against STDs (ALACITS). She is affiliate Professor of the Department of Global Health, at University of Washington and of the School of Public Health at Tulane University. She has also been appointed as a member of the United States National Academy of Medicine, becoming the first Peruvian professional with such a distinction.
Read her 2009 profile in The Lancet, 'Patricia Garcia: promoting public health research in Peru'.
Celebrating 15 years of the International Health Lecture
We are delighted that 2019 marks 15 years of the International Health Lecture.
The lecture was first presented in 2004 by Dr Bernard Moss. We have been honoured to host this lecture in partnership with The Lancet since 2016.
These high-profile lectures attract a diverse audience, including the Academy's Fellows, academics, policymakers, the media, stakeholder groups and members of the public. In just the last five years, they have explored the following key issues in global health.
2018 - Universal Health Coverage: Global policy agenda breakthrough or great white elephant?
Dr Irene Agyepong explored how in order to achieve the sustainable improvement of global health, health systems need to be strengthened on a national level. She argued models for this need to be flexible, principles need to be adapted, and the energy within a country needs to be capitalised upon.
2017 - Planetary health: Protecting global health on a rapidly changing planet
Dr Samuel Myers delivered the 2017 lecture on a new field that has arisen to understand the interdependencies of human and natural systems – planetary health. He posed difficult questions including how will further biophysical changes will affect nutrition, who is at most risk, and how much displacement and conflict can be expected as we continue to degrade natural resources?
2016 - The heart of Africa: succeeding against the odds
In 2016, Professor Karen Silwa described the immense burden of cardiac disease in Africa and detailed how she had defined the demography of disease and established a framework for further detailed studies. She explained how she had rebuilt and established cardiac institutes equipped with modern technology for contemporary cardiological investigations.
2015 - Re-engineering personalized health care for chronic conditions: lessons from my mother
Dr Vikram Patel discussed examples from his work on the Indian healthcare system and the treatment of mental disorders in 2015, arguing that the current, globally pervasive model of healthcare for chronic disease is unsustainable and should be replaced with a person-centred approach.
2014 - A scientist, an engineer, and a banker walk into a pub...the not-so-funny truth about innovation in global health
Dr Trevor Mundell set out how the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health Programi s leading efforts in research and development of health solutions including vaccines, drugs and diagnostics to combat health problems that have a major impact in developing countries and receive too little attention and funding.
Explore the history of this lecture series, including past speakers and videos since 2016, by visiting this page.
International Health Lecture flyer 2019