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SAVE THE DATE - Sunday 17 November 

Political Economy of Health SIG: 2024 Workshop
10:00am to 4:00pm
Keynote Speakers to be announced 

Power, privilege and priorities: Decolonising Political Economy of Health.
Capitalism and corporate interests have been a major driver of colonialism in the 20th and 21st centuries which has led to increasing inequalities in economic development and health between and within countries. However, does this mean that any political economy of health approach that is in opposition to corporate interests is inherently decolonised? Or does the colonial mindset still shape the way that we characterise, prioritise and address public health challenges? If we seek to achieve a truly equitable future, how do we prioritise decolonisation to address the injustices of the past and ensure that we don’t repeat the same mistakes?
This interactive workshop aims to provide attendees with an opportunity to hear and engage with diverse perspectives to generate genuinely reflective, critical and challenging discussions on the past, present and future of colonialism in public health, particularly the political economy of health. 

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Questions to be considered:
-    How has public health been complicit in colonial practices of the past? How does colonial framing contribute to the way public health is researched and practiced in the present?
-    How might this framing influence how we approach local and global public health issues with a political economy lens?
-    How do we examine, reflect and correct this in the future?
-    How do we ensure that our approaches do not further disempower, drive inequities, or exacerbate power imbalance?
-    What is the current agenda for a political economy of health approach? Who sets the agenda? Who should set the agenda?  
-    What can we learn from the successes in public health in the Global North to improve our contribution to justice within countries? 
-    How do we reconcile the tension between the public health advancement and adverse externalities of economic growth, when we have been the beneficiaries thus far?
-    What should we do differently to ensure that voices and knowledge of the colonised are empowered and valued?
 

Ahead of the Commerce, Economy, Trade and Public Health Conference, this workshop will explore these ideas and questions to provide a critical lens to take forward in research, policy and advocacy. 

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FACE-TO-FACE ATTENDANCE ONLY - $30 PEH members, $50 others, $15 concession/student
Registration is a must, spaces are limited.

9:00am to 10:30am

Opening Plenary - 'Public health's role in commercial and economic systems'

  • Welcome to Country 

  • Introductory Remarks by Adj. Professor Terry Slevin, CEO PHAA

  • Conference Welcome by VicHealth, sole partner of the Commerce, Economy, Trade and Public Health Conference 

  • Conference Opening - TBC
     

Session Chair: Professor Anne-Marie Thow, The University of Sydney
Keynote Presentations:

  • Professor Ronald LaBonte, Professor Emeritus, University Of Ottawa

  • Professor Sharon Friel, Professor of Health Equity, Director, Menzies Centre for Health Governance, Australian National University.

10:30am to 11:00am - Morning Tea & Exhibition

11:00am to 12:30pm

Concurrent Session 1 

  • 1A - TBC

  • 1B - TBC

  • 1C - TBC

12:30pm to 1:30pm - Lunch & Exhibition

1:30pm to 3:00pm

Workshops - Concurrent Session 2

2A –  Pandemic preparedness and response, and health equity – Facilitated by Deb Gleeson, Kelly Lee 
 

2B – Social movement responses to the impact of trade and investment agreements on public health
Facilitated by: Dr Patricia Ranald and Dr Mary Assunta and Dr David Legge
This interactive workshop will discuss case how trade and investment agreements can restrict regulation that affects public health, including regulation of tobacco, environmental pollution and reduction of carbon emissions, and how social movements can influence governments to reduce such restrictions to ensure that governments can regulate to address changing health and environmental needs.
Dr Patricia Ranald is Convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network and an honorary research associate at the University
of Sydney. Dr Mary Assunta is Senior Advisor to the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, and an adjunct senior lecturer at the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney. Dr David Legge from the People's Health Movement is an Emeritus Scholar at Monash University.  

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2C – It’s all about the money: unpacking key actors and practices behind financialisation. 
Faciliated by: AsPr Ashley Schram, Professor Sharon Friel.
Target Audience: Public health academics, practitioners and advocates interested in advancing and implementing knowledge on the role of finance and financialisation in shaping human health and health equity, and those more generally interested in learning more about this emerging area of research.
Learning Outcomes: Understanding what financialisation is; Understanding how financialisation drives human health and health equity; State of the research, particularly in relation to the evolution of actors and practices; Networking with others who are interested and engaged to advance research and action.
About: Join us in an exciting session dedicated to exploring the relationships between financialisation, human health, and health equity. As financialisation increasingly permeates global economic systems, understanding the network of stakeholders and mechanisms behind its expansion is essential. This workshop will open with an introduction to key actors and processes driving financialisation and their implications for health outcomes. This will be followed by a more detailed exploration of specific trajectories and practices. This workshop will foster collaborative engagement and participatory dialogue. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in scholarly discourse, cultivate interdisciplinary networks, and support the advancement of a research agenda on financialisation and health equity.

3:00pm to 3:30pm - Afternoon Tea & Exhibition

3:30pm to 5:00pm

Plenary 2  - 'Mobilising health agendas in economic policy spaces'

Session Chair: As Pr Ashley Schram

Keynote Presentations:

  • Dr Benn McGrady, Director, O’Neill Institute Initiative on Trade, Investment and Health, Adj. Professor Georgetown University Law Center.

  • Dr Bronwyn King, Founder, Director and CEO, Tobacco Free Portfolios

  • Ms Ana Novik, Head of investment OECD

  • Dr Michelle Maloney, Co-Founder and Director of NENA

6:00pm to 10:00pm

CONFERENCE DINNER - STREAT COLLINGWOOD

9:00am to 10:30am

Plenary 3  - 'Commercial determinants and strengthening governance for health'

Session Chair: Ms Cass de Lacy-Vawdon

Keynote Presenters:
Professor Kelley Lee, Canada Research Chair Tier 1 in Global Health Governance

Ms Jennifer Lacy-Nichols, Commercial Determinants of Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne

Presenter 3 - TBC

10:30am to 11:00am - Morning Tea & Exhibition

11:00am to 12:30pm

Concurrent Session 3

  • 3A - TBC

  • 3B - TBC

  • 3C - TBC

12:30pm to 1:30pm - Lunch & Exhibition

1:30pm to 3:00pm

Workshops - Concurrent Session 4

​4A - Workshop on safeguarding health in international investment agreements

Facilitated by:
Anne Marie Thow, Diana Rosert and Wolfgang Alschner

About:
International Investment Agreements (IIAs) form parts of efforts by governments to attract foreign investment. However, industry actors have used them to dispute health policy measures in critical areas, including tobacco control and access to medicines. Governments find themselves caught between the interests of the investors (companies), and the health of their citizens. The World Health Organization has recommended that health safeguards be built into IIAs. However, their adoption has been limited and inconsistent.

This workshop will present new evidence on: 1) best-practice options to successfully safeguard health in IIAs, and 2) strategies for public health actors to support the inclusion of health safeguards in future IIAs.

 

4B - Commercial determinants of health and conflicts of interest

Facilitated by: 
Dr Belinda Townsend, Dr Katherine Cullerton, Professor Barbara Mintzes
Target Audience: 
Practitioners, researchers, health promotion and organisation staff
Learning Outcomes: 
Drawing on the research results that will be presented at the workshop and on the planned discussions, the three

learning objectives of the workshop are to: Identify how conflict of interest is conceptualised in international settings and in Australia in              regard to commercial actors and health; Understand current challenges and tensions faced by Australian health, consumer, and patient            groups in regards to managing engagement with commercial actors; Develop capacity to be better equipped to identify, prevent and/or            manage conflicts of interest.
About:
 While there has been much focus on how commercial actors influence and interfere in health policymaking and practice, less              attention has been paid to how health organisations, researchers, and patient groups are managing their engagement with the broad                suite of commercial actors that influence population health. This workshop draws on research projects with 1) Australian health                        organisations on how they are managing engagement with commercial actors particularly in the areas of alcohol and ultra-processed              foods; 2) population nutrition researchers and a new toolkit for identifying, preventing, and managing COI in research activities; and 3)              how patient and consumer groups are navigating this landscape particularly in pharmaceutical policy. The overarching aim of the                      workshop is to explore current tensions and challenges for organisations, researchers, and the public, and identify good practice                      internationally and locally, including potential tools that can be adapted and developed to assist the public health community.

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4C – Workshop on wellbeing economies and alternative economies – Facilitated by VicHealth 

3:00pm to 3:30pm - Afternoon Tea & Exhibition

3:30pm to 5:00pm

Closing Plenary - 'Moving forward in research and action'

Session Chair: Associate Professor Deborah Gleeson
Keynote Presenters:
Presenter 1 - TBC

Dr Fabio Gomes, Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, PAHO/WHO

Presenter 3 - TBC

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