17 Jun 2005

Renowned expert on global health addresses north/south audience

With increasing levels of chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and chronic heart disease and new global threats to public health including SARS and bioterrorism it is vital that countries construct the best policies, programmes and structures to improve and protect the health of their populations.

Ilona Kickbusch, world renowned for her contributions to innovation in public health will address public health leaders from both Ireland and Northern Ireland on the solutions and challenges facing us in the 21st century.

Dr Kickbusch will speak at a seminar taking place on Friday 17th June 2005 at 11am in the Great Southern Hotel, Dublin.  The seminar is being hosted by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, who work to reduce health inequalities on the island of Ireland.

Notes to Editors
Availability for interview:

Please contact Arlene McKay (as below) for information on Dr Kickbusch’s availability for interview.

Dr Jane Wilde, Director of the Institute of Public Health in Ireland will also be available.

Dr. Ilona Kickbusch
Dr Kickbush has published and lectured widely on the new public health.  She has received international recognition and awards for her work.  She acts as an advisor to the World Health Organisation, the Pan American Health Organisation, the Commission of the European Union and the World Bank.  She was the 2001-2002 distinguished Fulbright New Century Scholars Leader on “Challenges of Health in a Borderless World”.

From 1998 to 2004, Dr Kickbusch was professor for Global Health at Yale University and served as the head of the division of global health.

Previous to joining Yale, Dr Kickbusch enjoyed a long career with the World Health Organisation where she initiated the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and headed a range of innovative programmes such as Healthy Cities and Health Promoting Schools.  As director of communications at the WHO headquarters in Geneva she oversaw the planning for World Health Days and the World Health Reports.

Dr Kickbusch now works as an independent global health consultant based in Switzerland.

The Institute of Public Health in Ireland
The Institute of Public Health has been set up to identify and develop practical advantages from building greater co-operation for public health between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.  We work in four areas; policy advice, information surveillance, research and capacity building and our objective is to tackle inequalities in health and improve the health of the public.

The Institute is one of 36 statutory, private and voluntary organisations who have joined forces to urge the public to protect the health of all workers and vote for a smokefree Northern Ireland.

For further information contact
Arlene McKay
Information Officer
Institute of Public Health in Ireland
Tel: +44 (28) 90 648494/ 07734 903944
Email: arlene.mckay@publichealth.ie