Conference 2018 – Health and Education: Stronger Together
17/05 - 30/11/2018

On 17 May 2018, the Belgian platforms Be-cause health and Educaid.be jointly organise an international conference in Brussels on the intersection between health and education in international cooperation.

Better learning outcomes lead to improved health outcomes and vice versa. This is particularly true for women and girls. Ensuring quality education for all is central to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically the goals that ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all, at all ages. At the same time, learning outcomes are also critically dependent on the health and nutrition of the individual learner.

But to what extent does international cooperation link health and education? Are there examples of collaboration between the two sectors? What are the needs and principal barriers? What are the conditions for making collaboration effective?

This conference wants to highlight the links between health and education as global public goods, and explore common challenges as well as learning opportunities. It will thereby focus on investments in three main areas:

  • Health workforce development
  • Safe and healthy school environments
  • Community engagement/awareness-raising for health and education

The conference will be opened by Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development Cooperation, Digital Agenda, Telecom and Postal services, followed by a keynote address which will provide a helicopter view of the intersection between health and education. Subsequently, an expert panel will make the case for investing in education and health and highlight international priorities for this crucial interplay. In the afternoon, four parallel break-out sessions will focus on innovative practices and examples of collaboration between a wide range of development actors – international and Belgian – working on education and/or health.

The annual conferences of Be-cause health and Educaid.be aim to enrich discussion on respectively health and education issues within international cooperation by giving the floor to academics and researchers, policy makers and practitioners from all over the world. With this joint conference, both platforms aim to trigger critical reflection on the roles of international development actors in combining education and health.

The conference will be held in English and French. Simultaneous translation (English-French) will be provided in the plenary sessions and in session C.

Pictures of the event

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Drawings

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Programme

8:30 – 9:00
Registration
9:00 – 9:30
Educaid & Be-causehealth
Welcome & Introduction
Educaid.be & Be-cause health
Alexander De Croo
Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development Cooperation, Digital Agenda, Telecom and Postal services.
About the Minister
9:30 – 10:15
Bradford Strickland
Keynote address
Dr Bradford Strickland, International development specialist.
Biography
10:15 – 10:45
Coffee break
10:45 – 12:30

Panel discussion – Making the case for investing in education and health

Moderator: Laura Shields, Red Thread

Joanna Herat
Joanna Herat, Team Leader Senior Programme Specialist on Health and Education, UNESCO
Biography
Ibrahima Souka Ndella Diouf
Ibrahima Souka Ndella Diouf, Directeur des Ressources humaines du Ministère de la Santé et de l’Action sociale du Sénégal
Biography
Faith Nkala
Faith Nkala, National Director Camfed Zimbabwe Biography
Biography
Lesley Drake
Lesley Drake, Executive Director Partnership for Child Development, Imperial College London
Biography
12:30 – 14:00
Lunch
14:00 – 16:30
Breakout sessions
Session A

Two Birds, One Stone

How can comprehensive sexuality education and programmes addressing school-related gender-based violence contribute to better sexual and reproductive health and education outcomes? Lessons for policy, practice and partnerships

Organisers: International Centre for Reproductive Health (ICRH), Plan International Belgium, Sensoa, VVOB
Language: English (no translation)
Moderator: Sietske Steneker, UNFPA
More information about the session

Yona Nestel
Yona Nestel, Senior Education Advocacy and Policy Advisor Plan International
Biography
Hans De Greve
Hans De Greve, Education Advisor VVOB Suriname
Biography
Joanna Herat
Joanna Herat, Team Leader Section of Health and Education, Education Sector, UNESCO
Biography
Anna Ninsiima
Anna Ninsiima, Lecturer School of Women and Gender Studies, Makerere University (Uganda)
Biography
Session B

The POWER of KNOWING

Training practices for healthcare professionals combining innovation and tried and tested methods with a view to making teams more independent

Organisers: Fracarita Belgium, Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), Medics without Vacation, ULB Coopération
Language: French (no translation)
Moderator: Anne Fromont, Ecole de Santé Publique, ULB
More information about the session

Roland De Bruyne
Roland De Bruyne, Formateur Fracarita Belgique & Médecins sans Vacances
Biography
Prudence Mitangala Ndeba
Prudence Mitangala Ndeba, Assistant Technique Projet d’Appui au Développement du Système de Santé (PADISS), Nord Kivu (RD Congo)
Biography
Jean Michel Kolié
Jean Michel Kolié, Assistant au Service informatique Centre National de Formation et de Recherche en Santé rurale (Maferinyah, Guinée)
Biography
Session C

Citizens claiming their rights

How to engage communities in realizing the right to health and education
Organisers: APEFE, G3W-M3M, KIYO, Plan International Belgium, ULB Coopération
Language: French and English (with simultaneous translation)
Moderator: Fanny Polet, G3W-M3M-KIYO-Solidagro (consortium)
More information about the session

Billy Mwangaza Katya Vihamba
Billy Mwangaza Katya Vihamba, Animateur Etoile du Sud (RD Congo)
Biography
Ali Oumarou
Ali Oumarou, Responsable de projet Plan International Niger
Biography
Mohammed Owaineh
Mohammed Owaineh, Community Centers Supervisor BASR, Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation
Biography
Session D

Where education meets health: health education for children and adolescents

Developing adequate and contextualised teaching materials to promote general understanding of diabetes and first aid to enhance children and adolescents’ ability to be more resilient, safer and healthier.
Organisers: Belgian Red Cross Flanders (BRC-F), Internatioanl Diabetes Federation (IDF)
Language: English (no translation)
Moderator:TBC
More information about the session

Jorien Laermans
Dr Jorien Laermans, Methodological Expert Centre for Evidence-Based Practice (CEBaP), Belgian Red Cross Society
Biography
Lieve Adam, Focal Point First Aid International Cooperation Belgian Red Cross Society, Flanders (BRC-F)
Biography
Monika Arora
Monika Arora, Director: Health Promotion Division and Additional Professor Public Health Foundation of India
Biography
16:30 – 17:30
Reception

Location