SYNOPSIS

While there was tremendous improvement in global child health during the Millennium Development Goal era, huge gaps remain in access to healthcare, nutrition and sanitation etc. A number of lessons from the MDGs and key demographic and epidemiologic trends in the last decade have increased our understanding of the role of health in development and the priorities in global child health. Priorities in health and development were recently articulated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This Grand Round will review these perspectives and trends, how the SDGs were developed, and UNICEF’s approaches to the unfinished agenda and future priorities in global child health.

SPEAKERS

Dr David Hipgrave is a University of Melbourne graduate (BSc, MBBS, PhD) and RCH-trained paediatrician with extensive country-level experience on child clinical and public health in Africa and Asia. After two years as a District Health Officer in Malawi, and seven years with the Burnet Centre and the University focusing on vaccine-preventable and communicable disease control in Vietnam and other countries of the Mekong region, David joined UNICEF in 2004, managing diverse health and nutrition activities in its Indonesia and China country offices. His research has focused on child health and nutrition and diverse health systems issues, mainly in Asia. David now works as Team Leader for Health Systems Strengthening in the Health Section of UNICEF at its New York Headquarters. He is also an Associate at the Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne.