**Note on VP Biden's visit: Security measures due to VP Biden's visit should NOT greatly impact access to the event in the Taubman Building. JFK Street will be closed between Memorial Drive and Eliot Street - this will NOT impact the shuttle between Longwood and Main campus.
The location and time of this event have been updated. The event will now take place from 1:00-2:30 PM in the Kalb Room, Taubman Building, Room 275, HKS.
A panel discussion with:
Dr. Faleh Mohamed Hussain Ali, Assistant Secretary General, Policy Affairs, Supreme Health Council, State of Qatar.
Dr. Nadeem Alduaij, Associate Chief of Emergency Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Milton, Massachusetts, and President of SAHA Institute. Link here to complete bio.
Dr. Rifat Atun, Director, Global Health Systems Cluster, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard School of Public Health. Link here to complete bio.
About the Panel:
The world is facing a growing double burden of disease: While HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria are still wreaking havoc and decimating lives and communities, non-communicable and chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancers that used to primarily afflict the rich and developed countries are now adding further strains on the fragile health systems of developing countries. This shift in the pattern of burden of disease highlights the ever-growing need for resilience in health system, to enable countries to adapt in real-time and face these growing challenges.
The high-income countries of the Gulf, which have long histories with universal healthcare coverage, also face these challenges, notably the ensuing growth in the healthcare expenditures. The burden of chronic and non-communicable disease, coupled with the threat of new and re-emerging infectious diseases such as Polio, MERS Co-V, MDRTB, SARs, and Ebola, have forced countries globally to rethink their strategies and priorities. Gulf countries are particularly at risk given the rapid transitions they are experiencing and the transient and migrant populations they have.
The Department of Global Health and Population at HSPH and the Middle East Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School of Government cordially invite you to attend this roundtable event to discuss these issues with policymakers and health advocates from the region.
