The Director General of the World Health Organization declared recently: "We are much better placed to deal with this outbreak than we were in 2014".
What changed since 2014? What lessons have been implemented, at the global level and in Norway? And what does the response to the ongoing epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) shows? Are we actually better prepared?
The debate will bring together:
Bengt Skotheim, Project manager at the Norwegian Directorate of Health. Bengt has been working at the Norwegian Directorate of Health since 2009 and has been involved in the set-up of the Norwegian response to Ebola. He works in close cooperation with the WHO. He holds a Master degree in International Politics and Security from the University of Bradford (UK).
Sonja Kittelsen, Post doctoral fellow, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo. Sonja holds a PhD in International Relations from Aberystwyth University. Her current research focuses on international NGOs involvement in the Global Health Security Agenda and the operational effectiveness of their health system strengthening efforts in Liberia.
Antoine de Bengy, Research assistant, SUM. Antoine recently graduated from SUM's master program. His research focuses on Norway's response to Ebola (2014-2015) - how the government balanced altruistic and security concerns during the crisis. He was recently awarded the Ordingsprisen from NUPI, for best scientific article written by a bachelor or master student from the Nordic countries.
Gunnhildur Arnadottir, Board Member of MSF Norway (Leger uten Grenser) and nurse. Gunnhildur has been on two ebola missions with MSF (Sierra Leone and Guinea in 2014), and is in contact with volunteers currently in the field in DR Congo. She holds a master degree in International Health from Karolinska institutet.
The debate will be introduced by a presentation from Antoine de Bengy; and will be moderated by Katerini Storeng, Associate Professor at SUM.
On the seminar series "Global Health Unpacked"
“Global Health Unpacked” is a seminar series that aims to bring together the global health community on a regular basis to critically discuss key debates in Global Health in informal and interactive seminars. Guest speakers (both from the University of Oslo and from other universities) will bring an original perspective to the topic and engage in a conversation with the audience.
With this forum, we also hope to facilitate exchanges and collaborations between global health researchers and students present in Oslo and foster interdisciplinary research. “Global Health Unpacked” is jointly organized by the research group Power and Politics of Global Health, Centre for Development and the Environment and the UiO Centre for Global Health.