4th Global Public Health Week
09 April, 2025. 14:00-15:00 CET
Raising Youth Voices: A Discussion on Equity and Decolonisation in Public Health
Co-hosts: Health Diplomacy Youth Network, Young World Federation of Public Health Associations, International Pharmaceutical Students Federation, International Veterinary Students Association, Europubhealth Students and Alumni Association and International Federation of Medical Students Association
Rationale: Youth remain under-represented in global health policy, advocacy, and diplomacy while facing barriers to public health education. Health curricula worldwide still contend with colonial legacies requiring revision. In response, youth organisations drafted the 2024 Youth Manifesto, outlining concerns, priorities, and solutions for equity and decolonisation in public health. This webinar aimed to advance these discussions from reflection to action by engaging young professionals in shaping equitable policies.
The webinar opened with remarks from Emma Rawson Te-Patu, President of the World Federation of Public Health Associations, highlighting individual agency and choice from indigenous perspectives as foundations for youth inclusion and decolonisation. Following this opening, pre-webinar survey results were presented, revealing that youth across multiple regions share common concerns: lack of representation in decision-making and socioeconomic barriers limiting public health engagement opportunities.
A panel discussion followed, featuring representatives from youth organisations, Jamie Bonifacio Jr., Europubhealth Students and Alumni Association, outlined methodologies for equitable youth inclusion in their initiatives. The panellists emphasised the importance of “decolonising mindsets” to promote inclusive thinking. A young pharmacist, Mark Daguman, International Pharmaceutical Students Federation on the panel stressed ensuring access to quality, safe, and affordable medications, while Zeineldin Elmikaty, International Federation of Medical Students Association, highlighted the need for health curricula to integrate colonialism’s history and impact by exposing students to social and community-driven determinants.
Dr Abhishek Bhatia, Health Diplomacy Youth Network, a membership-based youth network, described their approach, explaining how their network serves as a key component of their parent organisation’s advisory board and implements youth-led and youth-driven initiatives in global health policy. The session concluded by affirming that raising youth voices resonates across participating organisations, and that discussions on Youth Manifesto advocacy and implementation must become an ongoing process with annual monitoring, evaluation, and revision.
Key takeaways:
- Decolonisation begins in the mind, wherein everyone needs to start approaching public health in a novel, inclusive equitable manner.
- A transition from the top-down predominant focus of bringing people to public health and making it bottom up and inclusive, where public health comes to people and is accessible to all communities globally.
- Youth organisations share a commitment to ensure a participation-based approach towards youth inclusion in their decisions and initiatives.
Watch the full video here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3Pg-FiVono
