Beyond the Ivory Tower: Healthcare Leadership in Times of Crisis

Friday 13 September 2024   18:00 to 20:00

Location: In-person and Online

About

Join the Oxford Global Health Society in this thought-provoking discussion with renowned researchers and practitioners engaged in responding to healthcare and humanitarian crises. During the session the panel will reflect on the critical leadership skills needed during health emergency responses, with vivid examples from ongoing crises. Furthermore, they will focus on successes and failures within our own academic systems and discuss what can be done in the highly complex political environment in which we all live. Arrivals and registration will begin at 17:30. At 18:00, presentations from the four panelists. These will be followed by a Q&A, then a short drinks reception.

The discussion will also be broadcast as a webinar. Please send advance questions by email to Maju Brunette (it will not be possible for the online audience to ask live questions) by Wednesday 11 September.

Panelists

Dr Andrew Black leads the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme’s (WHE) leadership in emergencies courses. The program focuses on developing leadership and teamwork skills in personnel working at the ‘sharp end’ of response; ensuring learning is adaptable to users’ environments; and leveraging technology to increase accessibility. More than 500 personnel in over 100 countries have participated in the program. Andrew joined WHO in 2017 from Public Health England where between 2008 and 2017 he designed and delivered multi-agency capacity building activities for the EU, the UK government, international organizations and local responders. Between 1998 and 2015 he served as an Army Officer in various roles. Andrew holds a Professional Doctorate in Health from the University of Bath. His thesis examined the non-technical skills used by public health staff to lead and collaborate effectively in multi-sector responses. He also holds qualifications in law and politics.

Professor Nick Maynard is a leading consultant Upper GI surgeon based in Oxford, with more than twenty-five years of experience in his field. He treats patients at The Manor Hospital, Nuffield Health Oxford. He specialises in the treatment of a wide range of Upper GI conditions, including oesophageal cancer, stomach cancer and gallstones. He has extensive experience conducting laparoscopic surgery to treat hiatal hernia, achalasia and reflux disease. Professor Maynard also has particular expertise in revision surgery, which is surgery done to correct or modify a previous surgery that did not have the desired outcome. As one of the leading Upper GI surgeons in the country, Professor Maynard is particularly experienced in upper gastrointestinal laparoscopy and endoscopy procedures. He is also an expert in treating adults who have had treatment of trachea-oesophageal fistula (TOF) and oesophageal atresia as a neonate – rare birth defects causing the upper part of the oesophagus and the windpipe to be connected to each other. Professor Maynard has been Consultant Upper GI surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust since 1997. He has been the Director for Cancer Services for Oxford University Hospitals from 2017 to 2022, and Associate Professor of Surgery at Oxford University.

Amira Nimerawi has over a decade of experience in driving transformative change and securing substantial funding in diverse international contexts. Amira has played a pivotal role in shaping policy and advocacy campaigns, driving changes to national policy on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights for women, Persons with Disability, and youth in the occupied Palestinian Territory. Amira is the CEO of Health Workers 4 Palestine and Social Impact Specialist at the Palestinian Medical Relief Society.

Dr Bhargavi Rao is a Clinical Associate Professor in Humanitarian Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, a role which includes co-leading the new MSc distance learning programme on Health in Humanitarian Crises.  She also works part-time at the Manson Unit, MSF U.K. as the strategic lead for research and as a Malaria/Infectious Diseases specialist. Bhargavi has worked in humanitarian responses across multiple contexts, previously led the Emerging Infectious Diseases portfolio at MSF including through COVID-19 and is a public health clinician with a PhD in infectious disease epidemiology.

Conveners: Maju Brunette, James Castro, Nargis Islam (MSc. Global Healthcare Leadership Program)

Register

Registration is essential. Attendees who have not registered for the in-person event may be turned away.

This event is hybrid. Please register below to attend either in person or online via Zoom.

Register for the in-person event

Register to be sent the webinar link

For more information, contact Maju Brunette (maju.brunette@gtc.ox.ac.uk).