23 and 24 May 2024, Robert Koch Colloquium 2024 "On the Move: Public Health in a Globalized World"

Begin:

23.05.2024, 14:00

End:

24.05.2024, 15:00

Location:

Berlin lecture hall and online via WebEx Webinar (hybrid)

Registration: Please register for participation

The Robert Koch Colloquium is an annual interdisciplinary lecture series, each year focusing on one specific innovative public health topic, such as Burden of Disease (2019), Public Health Surveillance (2021), Climate Change and Public Health (2022), and Social Inequities in Health (2023).

Each year, the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s national Public Health Institute, invites leading experts to present and discuss their area of work at the Robert Koch Colloquium. This year’s colloquium topic is “On the Move: Public Health in a Globalized World”. Over two days, a series of lectures addresses specific aspects of global mobility of pathogens and people. A final panel discussion with experts treats the implications of increased mobility on Public Health.

Within the context of a constantly changing global landscape, the interplay between mobility and public health becomes evident. As populations – whether voluntary or forced – cross borders of countries and continents, the transmission of communicable diseases as well as the occurrence and course of non-communicable diseases, are undergoing complex shifts. While the international spread of respiratory viruses poses challenges and implications for global pathogen control, the re-emergence of vaccine-preventable infections highlights the intricate relationship between human mobility and disease resurgence.
Recognising that health complexities transcend geographical boundaries, the diverse needs of mobile populations, including refugees, labour migrants and the homeless, demand a holistic understanding of health and an integrated approach of care. The mobility of people between healthcare systems, such as the transition between prison and the community, also requires a closer look: while the continuity of care and the transfer of health data within and outside health systems is challenging, this setting can provide a temporary opportunity to reach people for health care. The global nature of all these challenges requires international collaboration and knowledge sharing. While doing so, it is essential to include critical perspectives on the mobility of public health personnel and the contextual applicability of global health policies.

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