Date: 27/1, 13.15-15.00

Room: 419

In this session we will have a discussion and Q & A with a guest speaker, Dr Swarup Sarkar, focusing on financing global health, which also brings us back to political economy, ethics and institutions. The key question is, who pays?

Swarup Sarkar is an Indian physician, epidemiologist, public health professional and diplomat known for his works in the field of Infectious Diseases and HIV/AIDS in particular. He served as the Director of Communicable Diseases of the World Health Organization, South East Asia Regional Office (WHO SEARO) and is currently an advisor to international health agencies. Prior to his role in the WHO, Dr Sarkar has worked as the Head of South Asia and Regional Advisor of the Asia Pacific region of the UNAIDS, Asia Pacific Regional Director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS TB and Malaria and with the Asian Development Bank.

Preparation:

Before the session read Birn, Pillay, Holtz, chapter 3 - the second half of the chapter focusing on the politics of health/aid financing. (See also chapter 12, which will be picked up in detail in MGH202 as it's more about economics than financing)
Prepare 2 questions about global health financing you wish to discuss at the session.

As optional reading, Swarup has also suggested this Lancet article for those who are interested in debates about improving investments: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)60702-2/fulltext

Something to watch: Reimagining Financing and Governance for Global Health (Watch the whole thing if you wish, but Gregg Gonsalves' statements from about 19-23 minutes and the answers to questions from 32-47 minutes are very thought-provoking)