Global Community Health Annual Workshop – sixth edition

Discussant

Nicola Gray is the co-chair holder of the UNESCO Chair ‘Global Health & Education’. She is a Reader in Medicines and Health at the University of Huddersfield, UK. Registered as a pharmacist in 1991, she has worked in hospital, community and academic practice. She is a Trustee of the UK Association for Young People’s Health and Vice-President for Europe of the International Association for Adolescent Health. She has published a number of papers and opinion pieces regarding young people’s health, health literacy, the safe reopening of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the challenges for children and young people living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Nicola Gray is the co-chair holder of the UNESCO Chair ‘Global Health & Education’. She is a Reader in Medicines and Health at the University of Huddersfield, UK. Registered as a pharmacist in 1991, she has worked in hospital, community and academic practice. She is a Trustee of the UK Association for Young People’s Health and Vice-President for Europe of the International Association for Adolescent Health. She has published a number of papers and opinion pieces regarding young people’s health, health literacy, the safe reopening of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the challenges for children and young people living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Didier Jourdan is the co-chair holder of the UNESCO Chair ‘Global Health & Education’ and the head of the WHO Collaborating Centre for ‘Research in Education and Health’. He is a Professor of Education Sciences, former Director of the ESPE and Vice-President of Clermont Auvergne University (France). He has served as Chair of the Prevention Commission of the High Council for Public Health in France and as Director of Prevention at the National Public Health Agency. Didier Jourdan is Vice-President of the IUHPE (International Union for Health Promotion and Education) and a member of the Governing Board of the IITE (UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education).

Dr Rudolf Abugnaba Abanga (PhD) is a climate change and health systems researcher. He has two decades of experience in health systems strengthening, young people’s SRHR, and citizen participation in health governance. He is a Research Fellow in Planetary Health at WAC-SRT, University of Business and Integrated Studies, Ghana, and at the University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands. He holds leadership roles in global networks promoting climate and health policy and is co-chair of the Health Systems Global Climate Resilient and Sustainable Health Systems TWG. His recent work employs transdisciplinary approaches in collaboration with policymakers, multilateral organisations, and communities to advance Planetary Health.

Sarah Michaud (MPH, MSc). Public health professional and researcher based in Marrakech, Morocco, Sarah has more than 15 years of experience, including five in research. Her work focuses primarily on health promotion in school and university settings, as well as the development of psychosocial skills. Co‑founder and President of the Promote Health Now Association, she structures her health promotion activities around two complementary dimensions: research and field practice. She integrates the One Health approach and employs innovative digital technologies for health and education to connect scientific advances with educational practices and contribute to the well‑being of populations. She also serves as the National Representative of the UNESCO Chair “Global Health & Education” for Morocco.

Adil Mansouri (MD, MPH). Public health physician and researcher based in Marrakech, Morocco, Adil has over 10 years of experience, including five in research. His work focuses mainly on community medicine, prevention, and health promotion in school and university environments. Co‑founder of the Promote Health Now Association, he structures his activities around two complementary dimensions: research and field practice. He emphasizes interventional epidemiology and health sciences pedagogy to bridge scientific evidence and educational practice, contributing to the well‑being of populations through sustainable research‑action initiatives. He also serves as the National Representative of the UNESCO Chair “Global Health & Education” for Morocco.

Summary: Facing the challenges of climate change and its impacts on human, animal, and ecosystem health, raising awareness among young people about the One Health approach represents a strategic lever for sustainable transformation. This presentation shares a field experience conducted in Morocco, within a primary school, aiming to integrate the fundamental principles of the One Health approach into health education and promotion activities. Two main axes are developed: 1) the pedagogical integration of One Health concepts through tools adapted to young learners; 2) the “One Health Ambassador” project, a peer‑education initiative in which trained children become awareness agents within the school community through group activities and oral and written communication materials. By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:

• Apprehend the importance of fostering a One Health culture in health promotion from an early age, in light of the experiences conducted in Marrakech;
• Explore ways to adapt this model according to local resources and opportunities.

This initiative illustrates how schools can become vectors of community transformation, mobilizing children not merely as recipients of knowledge but as agents of change for global and sustainable health, even when addressing complex planetary health issues.

Helena Franceschini

Didier Jourdan is the co-chair holder of the UNESCO Chair ‘Global Health & Education’ and the head of the WHO Collaborating Centre for ‘Research in Education and Health’. He is a Professor of Education Sciences, former Director of the ESPE and Vice-President of Clermont Auvergne University (France). He has served as Chair of the Prevention Commission of the High Council for Public Health in France and as Director of Prevention at the National Public Health Agency. Didier Jourdan is Vice-President of the IUHPE (International Union for Health Promotion and Education) and a member of the Governing Board of the IITE (UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education).

Mafoko Phomane is a health equity advocate and environmental health campaigner based at groundWork, she brings public health expertise to efforts aimed at protecting communities from environmental risks in Southern Africa. Her work focuses on linking public health outcomes with environmental conditions, such as air pollution and climate-related health risks and advocating for stronger environmental justice policy that protects communities. Her work is rooted in mobilising health professionals to lend their expert voice, research, influence, to support and speak in solidarity with community environmental justice struggles. Her career includes roles in research, project coordination, and health programme delivery in South Africa and Lesotho. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Health and has a background in Public Health and Psychology. And is a Global Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity based at Tekano and Chair of the Public Health Association of South Africa’s – Climate, Energy and Health Special Interest Group.

Summary presentation: The climate crisis is a health crisis, South Africa’s long history of dependence on coal-fired power has had severe impacts on climate, environmental health, and public health. Communities have been in the forefront of self-organising and demanding their right to live in environments that are not harmful to their health and wellbeing, even if it requires taking their cause to the courtrooms. This journey will be shared via two precedent setting court victories referred to as the DeadlyAir Case and the CancelCoal Cases that exemplify shifting from top-down policies to community-led, people-centred action.

Leonardo Adorno is a public health graduate and researcher at the University of São Paulo’s department of Environmental Health with a FAPESP bursary, he has experience working in health management, pharmacovigilance and environmental health. During his graduation he found that communication with the public is one of the major challenges in health, thus his undergraduate research was focused on this issue. Communication is very important to him as well as climate change mitigation in cities, especially for vulnerable communities since those are the ones that will face the worst impacts of climate change related disasters in the future.

Summary: Leonardo will discuss his experience as a public health graduate in Brazil, explaining how a country where health is a constitutional right reaches its people through its national Universal Health System (SUS). He also shares his experience developing his undergraduate research project, “The Climatic Dragon’s Roar,” a card game created to sensitize the general public about climate change. It focuses on the consequences of natural disasters, such as heatwaves, and on the political and governmental possibilities of combating such disasters. The game sees players taking the role of city mayors in a region affected by disasters worsened by climate change. Each mayor must then play cards to mitigate the disasters’ immediate effects, adapt the city long-term, and carry out research and political development. A round starts by turning over a Disaster Card (DC), each a reimagining of Brazilian myth and representing a natural disaster affecting a city’s Quality of Life. These disasters are consequences of our misuse and disrespect of nature, leading its protectors to turn their wrath on us. During testing with different age groups, a game focused on health promotion and education was created; its participants felt excited to fight the negative effects of climate change.

Allyson Todd is the Youth Engagement Lead at the Youth Well Lab and a PhD candidate and Research Officer at the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Medicine and Health. Her research centres on chronic disease prevention in adolescents, with a strong focus on meaningful youth engagement in health research and policy. She holds a Bachelor of Global Studies (Health Major) and Master of Public Health. She is an active member of the Public Health Association of Australia Students and Young Professionals in Public Health Committee, and Secretary of the Child and Youth Health Special Interest Group. 

Summary: Allyson will share insights on her career working in community health, specifically working in partnership with adolescents to promote their health and wellbeing. She will reflect on her experience working on two specific projects: the Health Hive which aims to build young people’s real-world skills in research, leadership, and advocacy to shape healthier futures, and the Healthy Places, Healthy Futures Coalition which aims to advance health and chronic disease prevention through a planetary health lens. 

Somto Chike Obuekwe. I hold a Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.pharm), a Master of Science (MSc), and a PhD in pharmacy pracCce. My professional and research background is in community pharmacy pracCce, mental health, and suicide prevenCon. I currently work in the mental health sector in the United Kingdom. My research interest is on suicide prevenCon and improving access to mental health services in low- and middle-income countries.

Joana Collet. I am a PhD candidate in the interdisciplinary programme in Health and Society at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). My research focuses on innovative learning spaces designed to promote healthy lifestyles among primary school pupils, with a particular emphasis on how school stakeholders (teachers and pupils) in the Lab-École initiative use, appreciate and take ownership of these spaces. Directly linked to healthy lifestyles, this project falls within my areas of expertise and allows me to contribute to a collective reflection on children’s health. It also offers me the opportunity to share current issues related to health promotion in schools. The results of this research highlight the importance of an integrated approach by giving a central role to school stakeholders in the design of the schools of tomorrow.

Satarupa Dasgupta, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Communication Arts (Applied Communication) at Ramapo College of New Jersey. Her research focuses on health communication, program development and evaluation, and social outreach, with experience spanning academia and the not-for-profit sector. She has worked on violence prevention among commercial sex workers, prevention of sex trafficking, and rehabilitation of sex trafficking survivors in international settings, and also on intimate partner violence support service provision among immigrant communities in the US. Other than being an academic, she has been a sexual assault support services advocate in her state of residence, and has worked in the implementation of federally funded support services programs. She has published extensively in her area of expertise, has served several national and international organizations as program chair, and is on the editorial board for several journals.

Oumar Bella Diallo, a Senegalese national, holds a Master’s degree in Life and Earth Sciences Education, a vocational degree in Health Education and Promotion, and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Chemistry and Geosciences, all obtained from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. As a professional committed to health promotion, he works to improve the health of vulnerable populations and reduce social inequalities in health. He is participating in the global community health workshop for the fourth consecutive year as a facilitator. He was a junior researcher and member of the advisory committee for the HIRA (Shelter, Inform, Resocialise and Empower), led by the Laboratory for the Analysis of Societies and Powers in Africa and the Diaspora (LASPAD) at Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis, on the political and social challenges of providing healthcare for adolescent girls who are victims/survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Senegal. With practical experience at the intersection of climate, health and community resilience , Oumar is co-founder of the Senegalese Association for Health Promotion and Education (ASPES), and Ambassador for the Mental Health Leadership and Advocacy Programme (MHLAP) of the Africa CDC / African Union.

Rosalie Aduayi Diop, Director of IPDSR, holds a master’s degree in Health, Environment and Sustainable Territories (SSEnTS) from the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ) She is a teacher/researcher at the Institute of Population, Development and Reproductive Health at Cheikh Diop University in Dakar (IPDSR/UCAD). She has a PhD in sociology from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Dr Diop is involved in a wide range of teaching and research activities in Senegal, focusing on issues such as changes in the family, adolescents and young people in vulnerable situations, violence and reproductive health, and maternal health. She is also an active member of the Association internationale des sociologues de langue française (AISLF); research committee No. 28 Sociologie de la Jeunesse; the International Sociological Association (ISA); and recently a committee member of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE).

Pablo García-Cubillana de la Cruz currently works at the Andalusian Health Service and the Regional Ministry of Health and Consumers Affairs of Andalusia, Spain, as Director of the Andalusian Strategy for Healthy Living. He is a Nurse and Psychologist, with specialisation in mental health nursing, relational psychotherapy and health promotion. Much of his professional career has been developed in the field of mental health and since 2018 in the field of health promotion, encouraging new advances in the field of the promotion of healthy living, with a comprehensive and intersectoral approach, a salutogenic view and an emphasis on the social determinants of health.

Abubakar Ibrahim Hassan, Ph.D is an expert in Community Health Education and School Health Programme. He was a former Head of Department, Human Kinetics and Health Education, and the current Dean, Faculty of Education, Bayero University, Kano-Nigeria, a Member of Senate and Research Ethics Committee on Science, Environment and Technology of the University. He also worked in Primary, Secondary and College of Education, supervised many Ph.Ds, M.Sc(Ed) and Undergraduate Students, a SAGE Reviewer and a Principal Investigator in TETFUND Institutional Based Research. Dr. Abubakar is the CEO/Founder of Community Education and Health Promotion Initiative (CEHPI), Chairperson, Kano State Chapter and National Auditor of Nigerian Association of Health Educators.

María del Rocío Hernández Soto. Medical Doctor and PhD in Pediatrics. She is a senior public health leader with extensive experience in health system governance, territorial management, and population based strategies within complex institutional environments. She has held senior executive positions in regional health administrations, contributing to large scale programs in healthcare delivery, prevention, health equity, and organizational development. Her professional trajectory combines strategic leadership with strong operational capacity, including the direction of multidisciplinary teams, management of public budgets, and coordination across political, technical, and community stakeholders. Throughout her career, she has promoted integrated approaches linking health, education, and social determinants, with a particular focus on women, children, and vulnerable populations.

Vladimir Donan Honfo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Dietetic Nutrition and a Master’s degree in Public Health, specialising in Community Health. He has over five years’ experience and has contributed to various major health and nutrition programmes, such as the PMASN, the PNDPE and the ‘1-365’ daily malaria prevention initiative, in several municipalities and NGOs across Benin. Currently a junior consultant on the drafting of the protocol for the prevention and management of malnutrition (PECMA) in Benin, commissioned by the WHO, he continues his pursuit of excellence to bring about lasting improvements in community health through nutritional and public health interventions.

Joy Ukanne Ikegulu is a Lecturer of Health Promotion and Public Health Education at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.She has published and co-authored scientific papers on various topics in Health Promotion.She is an Exco of the Nigeria Association of Health Educators (Anambra State Chapter) Nigeria,and a member of Health Promotion Research Association of Nigeria.

Fifamè Loristia Keynesse Kpadonou is a healthcare professional with a Master’s degree in Public Health, specialising in Epidemiology. She has over five years’ experience in project management, community outreach, data collection and health education. Her career has enabled her to develop operational leadership skills in the planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of projects and programmes in collaboration with various community and institutional stakeholders. Committed to science communication through the media, she uses her skills to support the sustainable strengthening of health systems.

Anna Larice Meneses Galvao. A nurse and public health graduate, she holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of São Paulo (BR) and is currently a PhD candidate in Public and Community Health at Laval University (CA), where she conducts research on public health and frontline services. She works as a consultant to the Quebec Commissioner for Health and Well-being in the role of research officer and chairs the board of directors of the community organisation Carrefour d’action interculturelle, whose mission is to actively contribute to the social and economic inclusion of immigrants in Quebec City. She is also a member of the student committee at VITAM (Centre for Sustainable Health Research), where she coordinates career development activities for students. Her professional background is characterised by experience in health policy research and analysis. Her interests focus particularly on primary care, public health and access to services. She is also interested in issues of equity, social inclusion and the strengthening of health systems from a population and community perspective.

Mouhamadou Mansour Ndoye. A physician and public health specialist with a master’s degree in health promotion from the University of Parakou in Benin, I am particularly interested in the social, environmental, behavioral, and digital determinants of health. I advocate for a cross-sectoral approach in which health is at the heart of public policy. My work is primarily situated at the intersection of school and other settings, with a particular focus on the impact of public policies on the health, well-being, and quality of life of communities. As a dedicated advocate for school health for over a decade, I coordinate the school health service for the Rufisque department in the Dakar region. My vision is to empower students and the entire school community to make schools a true space for promoting well-being and quality of life.

Asyncrite Ntoto is a general practitioner and social entrepreneur; an expert on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and a specialist in planning for the prevention of gender-based violence. With over eight years’ experience in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, she supports the design and implementation of programmes and public policies related to comprehensive sexuality education, community health and the protection of vulnerable populations. She contributes to national family life education programmes in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), as well as to the integration of sexual and reproductive health concepts into several vocational training programmes. She also participates in national strategic discussions with public institutions, NGOs and United Nations agencies such as UNESCO and UNFPA. Committed to social change and youth leadership, she develops high-impact initiatives serving communities and empowering young people and women.

Yetunde Adenike Oguntokun is Principal Partner at Behaviour Modification Media. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology, with specialised training in Clinical Psychology, and has further training in Health Promotion through various courses and workshops. She is a creative health communicator who integrates her background in behavioural health with storytelling to translate complex health concepts into clear, engaging, and relatable messages. She has led and facilitated several health education and edutainment initiatives, including mental health seminars, adolescent substance abuse prevention programmes, teacher capacity-building webinars, road safety radio drama series, multi-platform health edutainment productions, and a health promotion tele-magazine series on YouTube. Her work focuses on using innovative, story-driven approaches to strengthen health awareness, support behaviour change, and enhance community engagement in public health. 

Amets Suess Schwend, PhD in Social Anthropology, MA Arts Therapies and BA/MA Sociology. They work as professor in research, teaching and consultancy at the Andalusian School of Public Health, Granada, Spain, and collaborate as PhD supervisor at the University of Granada. Their recent publications focus on intersex and trans studies, human rights, depathologization and research epistemologies, methodologies, and ethics. 

Gildas Vieira, who holds a PhD in Public Health, is the Executive Director of FRAPS (Federation of Health Promotion Stakeholders). He is also President of the Kama Afrique Vision think tank and of the ‘La France autrement’ movement. He served as Deputy Mayor for Community Life and Participatory Democracy, and spent 12 years as a municipal and community councillor for the city of Blois. As a teacher and trainer, his research focuses on interculturality and community health, leading to the publication of his eighth book, entitled ‘Community Health and Interculturality’. A committed advocate, he believes that health promotion is a key factor in reducing social inequalities in health, which is why he actively contributes, through political and professional advocacy, to empowering people to take action on health issues.”