Policy Coherence for Health and Development
Monday 26 October 2009, 9.00-11.00
CC Auditorium

Featuring Mr Stephen Lewis, Former Special Envoy
to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan

[by invitation only]

 

 Watch the webcast of the seminar here.

 

Policy coherence for development requires that OECD health policies are coherent with OECD countries’ development commitments. Although aid remains an important driver for development, mutually supportive policies across a wide range of economic, social and environmental issues are essential to combat the spread of diseases, maintaining a healthy workforce and ultimately reduce poverty.

 

Infectious diseases are one of the primary causes of mortality in the world and in developing countries they are a major barrier to economic development, social progress and human health.  However, the health innovation system is failing to deliver new medicines, vaccines and diagnostics for neglected infectious diseases. These diseases include tuberculosis and malaria, but also various tropical diseases. Recent OECD research suggests ways of co-operation and coherent policies required to improve the incentives and efficiency of the innovation system to scale-up research and discovery.

 

This event, which launched two publications on health and development, provided an opportunity for an informal discussion between health and development experts, as well as OECD ambassadors and staff.

 

PROGRAMME

• Opening remarks by Mr Aart de Geus, Deputy Secretary-General, OECD.
  Launch of Health: Improving Policy Coherence for Development, an OECD Policy Brief with a sectoral (i.e. health) focus on policy coherence for development (PCD).
• Key note presentation by Mr Stephen Lewis, Co-Director, Aids-Free World.
  Formerly the Special Envoy to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Mr. Lewis is Co-Director of AIDS-Free World, a new international AIDS advocacy organization, based in the United States. He is a Professor in Global Health, Faculty of Social Sciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
• Presentation by Mr. Andrew Wyckoff, Director, Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, OECD. Launch of Coherence for Health: Innovation for New Medicines for Infectious Diseases. This publication is part of the Development Dimension series.
• Intervention by Ambassador Laurence Argimon-Pistre, European Commission.
  EU’s progress on PCD for health.
• Intervention by Ambassador Augustín García-López, Mexico.
  Mexican perspectives in promoting  PCD in the health sector.
• Discussion.

	For more details about this publication,