During the 2022-23 academic year, the Global Health Policy Centre will be focusing on ‘Universal Health Coverage’ and, ‘The emerging role of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in healthcare’.
We wanted to focus on establishing sustainable and equitable healthcare systems in the future through our work this year. As we are nearing the end of the Covid-19 pandemic globally, we’ve seen the healthcare systems worldwide being stretched to their limits, and the unequal toll of the pandemic. Hence, it’s clear that we need to fix these cracks in the system and establish more sustainable infrastructure and processes that can serve the population equitably and withstand a future pandemic.
Universal Health Coverage ensures that people have access to the healthcare they require without undergoing financial hardship. While the specific goals towards achieving UHC may vary across countries, currently 30% of the world population still does not have access to essential health services, hence providing access to primary health care for all, is a key focus area identified by the World Health Organization. Eliminating inequalities in accessing primary health care is a first step in moving towards UHC through sustainable healthcare financing models, developing necessary infrastructure and skilled healthcare professionals, supporting and funding healthcare, and most importantly ensuring that these services are accessible to all.
The pandemic also brought to light the importance of research and technology in resolving a healthcare crisis efficiently. Whether it is in making a diagnosis by classifying a tissue sample as cancerous or non-cancerous, to epidemiology, population health utility in predicting a future pandemic, machine learning and artificial intelligence are starting to play a significant role in healthcare. We want to focus on the potential of these emerging technologies in creating more robust and sustainable healthcare systems. Simultaneously, we would also like to analyse the importance of algorithmic fairness in addressing healthcare inequity, as well as protecting individual healthcare data in the current digital era.
Crisis management is dependent on the existence of strong foundational, functioning healthcare systems globally. Therefore, our panel discussion at the King’s Think Tank conference this academic year will focus on, “The future of WHO: Collaboration in Combatting Future Health Crisis”.
We hope you are as excited as we are about our key focus areas this year and look forward to engaging in meaningful discussions surrounding these through our events and publications!
Anu Rachel Joseph
Director, Global Health Policy Centre
Our Policy Centre:
Anu Rachel Joseph
Director
I am Anu Rachel Joseph, and I’m in the fourth and final year of my Biochemistry MSci degree. I am hoping to pursue a career in biomedical research in the future, therefore I am very interested in Research Equity and utilising policy guidelines to promote the funding and research of rare and neglected diseases. I look forward to further exploring the role of Global Health policy in establishing accessible and inclusive healthcare, with King’s Think Tank this year.
Nathalie Luvena Lim
Editor
My name is Nathalie, a second-year undergraduate at King’s College London, pursuing a degree in Chemistry with Biomedicine. Born and raised in a Chinese-Indonesian household in Singapore, I’ve been uniquely positioned to observe the stark contrasts in healthcare systems between developed nations and emerging economies. This early awareness cultivated a deep passion in me for addressing health inequalities. I am particularly drawn to the challenges of funding research and fostering innovation in low-cost medical technologies and treatments. My focus gravitates towards diseases that predominantly affect those in low and lower-middle-income countries, especially those with potential Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Through this platform, I hope to shed light on these disparities and champion transformative solutions.
Our Working Group:
Ethan Curley
Hi, my name’s Ethan and I’m studying for a master’s in Public Policy at King’s. I joined the Global Health Policy Centre to help think about solutions to challenges such as financing a global health architecture, the anticipation of disease threats, and the implementation of universal health coverage. I hope my experience working with King’s Think Tank can help propel me into a career working on domestic healthcare policy here in the UK.
Daisy Eastlake
Hello! My name is Daisy and I am a penultimate-year undergraduate studying Politics BA. I am particularly interested in a career in policy going forward after my degree, aspirationally within the Civil Service! My interest in global health began originally after observing the delivery of the NHS, but really took off following the overturning of Roe v Wade in America. I’m looking forward to the year ahead with KTT!
Thomas Fuller
I am a master’s student currently taking an MA in public policy. I studied philosophy as my undergraduate degree and think a lot about normative issues that arise within a global health setting, especially as they relate to topics such as responsibility and obligations in healthcare.
Sheila Mwathi
I am a Msc Public Policy and Management student from Kenya. My main interest is in researching policy interventions that can enable equitable access to all forms of healthcare in developing countries given the various resource constraints that governments currently face.
Leoni Payano Baez
Here’s my intro and pic: I’m a second-year Philosophy, Politics and Economics student with a passion for Global Health. Growing up in a German-Dominican household has led me to grow conscious of the dichotomies between both countries, especially when looking at their public health systems. My main interest lies in the political economic side of public health and I am interested in questions related to socioeconomic factors and health inequity.