This International Women’s Day, the UCL Centre for Gender and Global Health will launch the inaugural report of Global Health 50/50 at UCL.

The launch event, in collaboration with UNAIDS, will take place on 8 March at UCL’s Kennedy Lecture Theatre in London, from 18.30-19.45.

Hosted by UCL’s Vice-Provost (International) Dame Nicola Brewer, the event will showcase key findings from the Global Health 50/50 initiative, which aims to promote gender equality in global health. The first report of its kind, it will take an in-depth look at the gender policies and practices of the world’s most influential global health organisations.

140 organisations

The extensive report takes a unique, 360 degree approach to the topic, analysing both the gender-responsiveness of external programmes and operations, as well as the internal workplace policies and practices of over 140 organisations.

Global Health 50/50 will also look at the extent to which organisations commit and take action to promote gender equality, help identify where change is needed and share examples of best practice for effecting this.

Driving action and accountability

The event next month will feature an interactive panel with speakers including Jocalyn Clark, Executive Editor of medical journal The Lancet, and Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust, with discussions set to cover the steps needed to advance gender equality in global health.

Speaking ahead of the event, Dr Sarah Hawkes, Professor of Global Public Health, said, “Global Health 50/50 is much more than just a report.

“Global Health 50/50 is a policy initiative that will help drive action and accountability for gender across global health through advocacy based on evidence, transparency for accountability, and a core belief that progress is both possible and necessary.”

Later this month, Professor Hawkes is also set to join Difficult Dialogues 2018, a three-day event in Goa which will see academics from UCL’s Institute of Global Health join global media, policymakers and practitioners to address challenges to gender equality in India and beyond.

• Sign up for the launch event here

The inaugural Knowledge Africa event was held at UCL on 16 June, marking the International Day of the African Child and the 40th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising.

The event, organised by Regional Pro-Vice-Provost (Africa & Middle East) Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu and the Global Engagement Office, brought together key academics from UCL working on Africa-relevant research with a view to fostering interdisciplinary work.

A series of lectures focused on healthcare, infrastructure and social questions relevant to a number of African countries. Highlights included:

• Deenan Pillay, Director of the Africa Centre for Population Health, presenting his vision to build the world’s leading global human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis research centre
• How healthcare budgets may be prioritised to achieve the best outcomes for their HIV patients, demonstrated by Jolene Skordis-Worrall of the Institute for Global Health
• Using data from the iSense programme, presented by Rachel McKendry of the London Centre for Nanotechnology, to improve disease diagnosis in rural South African communities
• Yacob Mulugetta of the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP) describing innovative methods of bringing energy to households
• Richard Taylor of the Geography department presenting work on improving rural access to water supplies
• Governance issues being highlighted by Michael Walls of the Development Planning Unit, who outlined the electoral challenges facing Somaliland
• Kamna Patel defining the notion of inclusive citizenship; a concept that focuses on the most disadvantaged individuals in any society
• Hélène Neveu Kringelbach giving an insightful presentation on the use of dance as a form of protest
• Details of funding streams available for work in the region from Carlos Huggins of UCL Consultancy.

A panel discussion raised interesting questions on the role of Western institutions in setting and delivering the African research agenda.

Attendees networked during a poster session and photographic exhibition that showcased research projects across the university.

Naomi Britton, Professional and Executive Education Coordinator at UCL STEaPP, said: “I found the event really helpful and enlightening, seeing all the different activities underway in the Africa region. It’s definitely highlighted research in different departments that we could look at partnering with in STEaPP.”