WHO Global Health Histories Seminars
The World Health Organization’s Global Health Histories project, established within the WHO headquarters and regional offices in 2004, is linked to the Centre for Global Health Histories. The annual WHO Global Health Histories seminar series, which forms an important part of the project, is co-hosted at the WHO Regional Office for Europe and elsewhere by the Division of Information, Evidence, Research & Innovation (DIR) at the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe and the University of York.
For details about upcoming seminars please see our Events Page.
See below for the Recordings Archive.
Since it was launched in late 2004, the enduring mission of the Global Health Histories seminar series (GHH) has been based on the idea that understanding the history of health, especially during the last 60 years, can help the global public health community respond to present-day challenges. It was envisaged as a way of bringing together academics, policymakers, public health professionals and members of the public from all over the world to foster useful discussions on topical global health issues, and create opportunities for historians and policy makers to connect with and learn from each other.
The Global Health Histories seminar series is a collaboration between the Division of Information, Evidence, Research & Innovation (DIR) at the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe and the Centre for Global Health Histories (CGHH), which is part of the Department of History and a constituent member of Humanities Research Centre at the University of York, generously funded by the Wellcome Trust.
History of the Series
Global Health Histories has now celebrated its 100th seminar! You can read a detailed report on the birth, growth and widening internationalisation of Global Health Histories via our news page.
Detailed news items on earlier series' are also avalable. Read more about the 2013 series and the topics covered in the article "Global Health Histories Seminars: 2013’s Topics Unveiled". You can also read Mr Thomson Prentice's articles on the history of the GHH Seminar series in Wellcome History magazine, Issue number 37 (pp 9), Issue number 41 (pp 14-16) and Issue number 43 (pp 18-20).
Recordings Archive
A Note Regarding Content
Recordings are presented in .wmv format (audio plus slides), except where indicated.
We apologize for the sound quality in some of these recordings. The 2009 Global Health Histories Seminars were recorded as they were transmitted live over the internet through a trial of the webinar system.
2018 & 19
2019
|
Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 21/1 |
WHO Public Information in Historical Perspective (no recording available) |
| 30/1 | Antimicrobial Resistance |
| 5/3 | Global Historical Milestones in PHC Implementation & CHWs |
| 5/3 | Global Historical Milestones in Infectious Disease Control using the Expanded Programme of Immunization |
| 6/3 | Air Pollution: Local contexts, universal effects |
| 14/3 | History, Culture and Global Health Sustainability |
| 28/3 | The Creation and Expansion of the Worldwide Smallpox Eradication Programme |
| 2/4 | Waste & Wellbeing: Cultural Waste Disposal Practices and Health |
| 7/4 | Health in Emergencies |
| 4/6 | Cycle Helmet Debates |
| 10/6 | The Political Economy of Health Financing Reforms |
| 18/6 | History of Health for All Stuggles in India |
| 25/6 |
Health and Disease Across Cultural and Disciplinary Boundaries |
| 2/7 | |
| 2/9 | |
| 3/9 |
‘Man Up’: Masculinities and mental health help-seeking behaviours |
| 12/9 | |
| 05/11 |
2018
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 17/1 |
United Nations, Helath System and UHC: histories, present and future (no recording available) |
| 24/4 | |
| 8/5 | Cultural Contexts of Health and Wellbeing: Can Art Save Lives? |
| 18/5 | Strategies of Anti-Panic: A New Approach to Epidemic Panic (no recording available) |
| 3/7 | Vaccine Hesitancy - Why Do Some People Not Vaccinate? |
| 5/7 | Tuberculosis, Infectious Disease Control, and Primary Health Care |
| 14/9 | Health Communication |
| 25/9 | Polio, Immunization and UHC |
| 8/10 | Zika |
| 17/10 | Faith In Universal Health Coverage |
| 24/10 | Immunization for Universal Health Coverage |
| 5/11 | Community Health Workers (no recording available) |
Please note, clicking the video links for these seminars will re-direct you to YouTube.
16 & 17
2016
|
Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 23/3 |
The Sri Lankan path to Universal Health Care & its implications for the SDGs (no recording available) |
| 6/5 | Leprosy |
| 25/8 | Food and Nutrition |
| 7/10 | Environment and Health |
| 2/12 |
2017
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 22/6 |
'A world that counts', contexts for health: information for health |
| 7/9 | Strengthening Universal Health Coverage for the fight against anti-microbial resistance |
Please note, clicking the video links for these seminars will re-direct you to YouTube.
14 & 15
2014
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 26/2 | |
| 12/3 | Sri Lanka: An Example of Model Healthcare |
| 23/4 | Mexico: Uneven Development and Primary Health Care |
| 5/5 | Public Health Implications of Mass Gatherings (no recording available) |
| 21/5 | Nepal: Primary Health Care, Universal Health Coverage & Foreign Aid |
| 25/6 | South Africa: Primary Health Care as a Harbinger of Democracy |
| 18/9 | Global Public Health, Social Media and Research |
| 22/10 | The UK, NHS and Universal Health Coverage |
| 7/11 | The Rise of Well-Bing in Public Health |
| 19/11 | Civil Registration: The Anchor for Universal Health Coverage? |
| 3/12 |
2015
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 19/3 | |
| 23/4 | Universal Healthcare & Missionary Medicine |
| 21/5 | Chemical and Biological Weapons (recording unavailable for this seminar) |
| 18/6 | Decline of Public Sector Vaccine Production |
| 17/9 | Climate Change & Health |
| 8/10 | Ebola |
| 15/10 | Evidence Based Medicine and Health Policy |
| 12/11 | Migration |
| 19/11 | Air pollution |
| 3/12 | Chikungunya |
Please note, clicking the video links for these seminars will re-direct you to CGHH's YouTube page.
12 & 13
2012
2013
, 413kb)Please note, clicking the video links for these seminars will re-direct you to CGHH's YouTube page.
10 & 11
2010 Banner with full event listing
*No audio available
Please note clicking the links for 2010's seminars will re-direct you to the WHO's website.
2011 Banner with full event listing
Please note clicking the links for 2011's seminars will re-direct you to the WHO's website.
*No recording available
08 & 09
2008 - Banner with full event listing
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 4/12 | Antiretroviral therapy in Zambia: the meaning of ARVs (no recording available) |
| 20/11 | The rise of the global health consultant: Brian Abel-Smith (no recording available) |
| 02/10 | The Fruits of a New Internationalism? South Asian Governments, the WHO & Global Smallpox Eradication * (EventPoster.pdf) |
| 18/09 | Professionalism and prestige: a British perspective on international nursing organization in the 20th century * (EventPoster.pdf) |
| 17/07 | Towards a History of Psychotherapy * (EventPoster.pdf) |
| 03/07 | In Pursuit of the Nazi Mind: Psychology, Psychoanalysis and Politics 1940-1950 * (EventPoster.pdf) |
| 12/06 | Cold War politics and the Rockefeller Foundation (no recording available) |
| 29/05 | Marcel Proust and the global history of asthma * (EventPoster.pdf) |
| 17/04 | Legacies of climate change and land use in West Africa (no recording available) |
| 17/03 | UNRRA and the 'world task in public health' after the Second World War * (EventPoster.pdf) |
* Audio only (.mp3). Please note clicking the links will re-direct you to the WHO's website.
2009 - Banner with full event listing
* Audio only (.mp3) Please note clicking the links will re-direct you to the WHO's website.
05 - 07
2005 - Banner with full event listing
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 29/01 | The Role of WHO in the History of Global Health* (Presentation 1) (Presentation 2) |
| 24/06 |
Going global: Uruguay, child well-being and international health, 1890-1940* (Presentation) |
| 5/10 |
Cholera in Egypt and the origins of WHO*(Presentation) |
* No audio available or video available
2006 - Banner with full event listing
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 11/1 |
From medical geography to the geography of health* |
| 10/2 |
Contemporary approaches to the construction of knowledge in public health: the social construction of the concept of "jungle yellow fever" - a case study* |
| 21/3 |
Health and Social Change. How comparing South Africa, Russia and 19th century Sweden gives clues on human resources for health today* (Presentation) |
| 28/4 |
Visual Media in the Pursuit of World Health |
| 31/5 |
Mission Impossible? WHO's Third Decade (1968 - 77) Efforts to Make Health an Integral Part of National Socio-Economic Development* |
| 13/6 |
Vikings Against Tuberculosis. The International Tuberculosis Campaign in India 1948-51* (Presentation) |
| 6/9 |
The WHO Response To The HIV/AIDS Pandemic* (Presentation) |
| 13/9 |
International Public Health Before the WHO* |
| 6/10 |
The Rise and Fall of Health Systems Research: Lessons from the 1970s* (Paper) |
| 13/12 |
Is the World Health Organization on the right course?* (Paper) (Presentation) |
* No audio or video available
2007 - Banner with full event listing
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 19/2 |
Primary Health Care: Not the best of beginnings?* (Paper) |
| 29/3 |
African Health History: PHC, women’s health and the gender trap* (Presentation) |
| 8/5 |
Primary Health Care in the 21st century: Which way forward?* |
| 30/10 |
Darwinian Medicine: How evolutionary biology can improve public health* (Presentation) |
| 28/12 |
Public health posters: past and present* (Presentation) |
* No audio or video available