Rural Proofing for Health: Pre-Conference Forum at the 13th OECD Rural Development Conference
The importance of delivering effective health services in rural communities has been clearly exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO is collaborating with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), World Organization of Family Doctors Working Party on Rural Practice (Rural WONCA), and other partners on methods to improve the health of rural populations who may experience inequitable access to quality health services and adverse social and environmental determinants of health.
The theme of the 13th OECD Rural Development Conference is Building Sustainable, Resilient and Thriving Rural Places. This joint WHO-OECD pre-conference forum will engage national authorities and partners to address the entry points, challenges and possible partnerships for the systematic application of a rural lens to health policies, strategies, plans and programmes to ensure rural needs, contexts and opportunities are considered.
Greetings and introduction:
WHO: Theadora Swift Koller, Senior Technical Advisor, Health Equity
OECD: Betty-Ann Bryce, Senior Policy Analyst, Regional and Rural Policy Unit, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions & Cities
Roundtable:
Moderated by Tatjana Buzeti, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Slovenia
European Commission: Katarzyna Ptak-Bufkens, Policy Officer, DG-SANTE, and Alexia Rouby, Policy Coordinator, Long-term Vision for Rural Areas, DG-AGRI
New Zealand: Barbara Kuriger, Member of the New Zealand Parliament and the Agriculture Spokesperson for National Party
Australia: Adjunct Professor Ruth Stewart, National Rural Health Commissioner
Ireland: Liam Glynn, Professor of General Practice at the University of Limerick School of Medicine and Breda Crehan-Roche, Chief Officer, Community Healthcare West
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Cathy Lavery, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Southern Health and Social Care Trust, and Aidan Campbell, Policy and Public Affairs Officer, Rural Community Network, Northern Ireland
Italy: Sabrina Lucatelli, Senior Policy Expert, Department for Cohesion Policy, Italian Presidency of the Council
United States of America: Tom Morris, Associate Administrator for Rural Health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Discussion and statements from the floor:
Facilitated by Rural WONCA: Bruce Chater, Chair, Working Party on Rural Practice of the World Organisation of Family Doctors
Close and next steps:
OECD: Dorothee Allain-Dupre, Head of Regional Development and Multi-level Governance, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities
WHO: Erin Kenney, Lead a.i. Gender, Equity and Human Rights