The 2023 Worldwide Well being Economics Affiliation (IHEA, previously stylised as iHEA) Congress was held in Cape City, South Africa, in collaboration with the African Well being Economics and Coverage Affiliation (AfHEA). The Mom Metropolis of the Rainbow Nation, residence of Desk Mountain, the African Cape Penguin, and essentially the most biodiverse metropolis on the planet. This was an IHEA of many firsts; the primary IHEA held in Africa, the primary IHEA held in a low or center earnings nation (LMIC), the primary in-person AfHEA occasion, and my first IHEA too!
As with earlier conferences for HESG and EuHEA, I created a vlog for the assembly, which you’ll be able to watch under.
The congress was 5 days in whole, with two pre-congress days and three days for the primary congress. There was a variety of pre-congress periods catering to many sub-disciplines and pursuits. I attended two morning periods through the pre-congress weekend, on direct financing for public amenities and well being financing capability strengthening in Africa. The latter session was wealthy with completely different viewpoints and a dynamic discourse on how you can strengthen, retain, and domesticate expertise and well being economics analysis throughout Africa. This session was moderated by John Ataguba (IHEA board member and government director of AfHEA) and featured panellists working in academia, authorities, and the personal sector. The important thing points highlighted had been the necessity to act now, a mind drain, a scarcity of gender illustration, and a disconnect between graduate programmes and the talents wanted within the subject. The options made included i) assembly expertise earlier than they graduate from college, ii) permitting college students to achieve related expertise by engaged on reside authorities points, iii) offering extra mentoring programmes, iv) governments taking cost of abilities growth pathways, and v) secondments throughout levels.
On the finish of the pre-congress weekend, there was a gap plenary session on the congress theme, which was Diversifying Well being Economics. Awards had been offered to LSHTM PhD candidate Henry Cust, Mario Martínez-Jiménez, and Corneliu Bolbocean.
Day one of many convention began in full swing, that includes a mess of various periods too quite a few to quote. The final session slot of the day was reserved for a number of the IHEA Particular Curiosity Group (SIG) conferences, together with the Economics of Weight problems SIG, Economics of Kids’s Well being and Wellbeing SIG, and the Well being Desire Analysis SIG. Right here was one of many many instances I needed to replicate on the chance price of my session selections, I attended the Environmental Sustainability and Well being Economics SIG assembly. This SIG assembly was completely different from the others on condition that it had not but been formally established, so this assembly was to determine the extent of curiosity and potential course for the group.
Within the night, AfHEA hosted a ‘work and chop session’ (workshop). ‘Chop’ is Pidgin English (spoken throughout West Africa) for eat. The night was nice, with reside native leisure, stellar meals, and fascinating discussions. Among the subjects of debate included coverage engagement, educating well being economics in Africa, early profession mentorship, and strategic initiatives for well being economics. Some options included launching an African-based journal, extra mentorship, and rewriting the African well being economics curricula.
Day Two of the convention was a little bit of a blur, as I used to be presenting within the ‘Financial Analysis of Neighborhood-Based mostly Interventions’ session. Following this, I attended the particular organised session on fairness, variety, and inclusion: How is IHEA Performing and the way can we Enhance? Key takeaways for me: 141 international locations represented between 1997 and 2023; 74 languages spoken; prime 10 international locations represented had been USA, UK, South Africa, Australia, China, Switzerland, Kenya, Canada, India, and Indonesia. There was a variety of upward mobility by way of positions and roles, and IHEA is in search of methods to extend Latin American participation.
Within the night, we had the pleasure of a pleasant buffet with meals from throughout the African continent, and obtained to listen to the attractive College of Cape City Choir who sang renditions of the Lion King and Africa by Toto.
Day 3 featured an essential closing plenary session detailing how local weather change, setting, and sustainability are shifting to the forefront of well being economics points. Martin Hensher (College of Tasmania) cautioned us with a transparent quote:
Local weather change goes to exert an ever better impression on all of our work as well being economists. What you do, what you wish to do, and what you possibly can not do goes to be impacted by local weather change.
All in all, the 15th IHEA Congress was an important alternative to debate, refine, look at, and collaborate with my friends within the subject. An added perk of the congress going down in Cape City was the heat of the Capetonians, the good meals, and at last the views of Desk Mountain, which might be seen from just about any facet of Cape City.
