Senior international health experts are meeting at UBC's Liu Centre for the Study of Global Issues for a two-day symposium entitled "Global Health Challenges" Mar. 4 - 5.
Problems associated with the increasing international commerce in food and health-related issues arising out of new international commerce and trade agreements are under discussion.
"We now know that certain germs and viruses travel on packaging," says Law Prof. Ivan Head, director of the Liu Centre.
The symposium will also address shortcomings in global health protection with respect to the spread of persisting and emerging infectious diseases.
Federal deputy minister of Health David Dodge, B.C. deputy minister of Health David Kelly, Juan Antonio Casas of the Pan American Health Organization, Peter Smith of the European Commission and Alfredo Solari, senior health adviser with the Inter-American Development Bank are among those attending.
Private sector experts include John Evans, former president of the University of Toronto and the first director of the World Bank's health program.
Lawrence Green, director of UBC's Institute of Health Promotion Research and Economics Prof. Robert Evans of the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research will chair the meetings.
As is the practice with Liu Centre symposia, a paper will be published and distributed to the international health community and to government policy-makers.
The purpose of Liu Centre symposia is to bring together senior policy-makers from the private and public sectors to ensure that the centre's policy-oriented research agenda remains both relevant and timely.