Global Health Council Speaks

A New Vision for Health Systems in the 21st Century: Investing in People

March 7, 2011, 12:30 - 2 pm

Preston Auditorium

The World Bank

Washington, D.C.

The first decade of the 21st Century ended with a much improved understanding about the health threats facing developing countries as well as innovative and affordable technologies to address them. Despite the financial crisis and economic downturn, global health expenditure has continued to grown rapidly during the past decade both in terms of domestic and donor funding. The binding constraint to further advances is no longer money or knowledge. It is the lack of people. Hon Julio Frenk will present his vision on these issues and discuss recommendations by the “Global Independent Commission” that he recently chaired in commemoration of the centenary of the Flexner Report.

• Link to the book: Health Professionals for a New Century: Transforming Education to Strengthen Health Systems in an Interdependent World: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/healthprofessionals/

• Cristian Baeza is the World Bank's Director for Health, Nutrition and Population, Human Development Network. Dr. Baeza has re-joined the World Bank from McKinsey & Company where he was a Partner leading its Global Health Systems Financing Cluster.

• Hon Julio Frenk. Since January 2009, Dr. Julio Frenk is Dean of the Faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health and T & G Angelopoulos Professor of Public Health and International Development, a joint appointment between the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and HSPH. Dr. Frenk served as the Minister of Health of Mexico from 2000 to 2006, where he introduced universal health insurance. He has also held leadership positions at the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico, the Mexican Health Foundation, the World Health Organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Carso Health Institute. In September of 2008, Dr. Frenk received the Clinton Global Citizen Award for changing “the way practitioners and policy makers across the world think about health.”

• Al-Karim Haji is responsible for the financial affairs of the Aga Khan University globally. AKU operates in eight countries with 13 teaching sites, seven hospitals and 216 health centers. He spends a significant amount of time working with multilateral and bilateral development banks and governments to securing financing for the University, establishing business development offices to facilitate commercialization of intellectual property, and pursuing income generating activities that cross subsidize academic programs. Mr. Haji sits on the Board of the First Microfinance Agency Pakistan (Private) Limited, is a member of the Aga Khan Development Network Endowment Investment Committee, and a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs Vancouver and Karachi Chapters. He is an alumnus of the University of British Columbia and a Canadian Chartered Accountant. Mr Haji has been very involved in community service including having served two years on the Senate of the University of British Columbia, and voluntary work with the United Way and other organizations.

• Jeffrey L. Sturchio is president and CEO of the Global Health Council. Before joining the Council, Dr. Sturchio was vice president of Corporate Responsibility at Merck & Co. Inc., president of The Merck Company Foundation and chairman of the U. S. Corporate Council on Africa, whose 150 member companies represent some 85 percent of total US private sector investment in Africa. He received an AB in history from Princeton University and a PhD in the history and sociology of science from the University of Pennsylvania.

• Harvey V. Fineberg is President of the Institute of Medicine. He previously served Harvard University as Provost and as Dean of the School of Public Health. He also has served as President of the Society for Medical Decision Making and has been a consultant to the World Health Organization. His research has included assessment of medical technology, evaluation of vaccines and dissemination of medical innovations. He is the author or co-author of numerous books and articles on subjects ranging from AIDS prevention to medical education. Fineberg holds four degrees from Harvard, including the M.D. and Ph.D. in Public Policy.

• Alexander S. Preker is Head of the Health Industry Group and Health Investment Policy Analysis for the Investment Climate Department of CICHE, where he leads a team working on improving the market environment for private sector participation in the health sector in developing countries.

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