Launch of CHI Global Health Department

CHI officially launched its Global Health Department on 24th October at the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland at an inaugural conference; “Global Child Health: Communities Healing a World in Crisis.” 

 The hybrid in-person/remote event was opened by CHI CEO Eilísh Hardiman, who played an important role in the Department’s creation, and featured a broad range of speakers from Ireland and abroad. 

 The conference served as an opportunity to share a wealth of knowledge from a combined experience of many decades in global health; to discuss lessons learned; to exchange ideas on how to make global health more effective; and to forge new partnerships. 

 “As a leading provider of children’s healthcare services, it is imperative that CHI has a strong global health presence and contributes toward the improvement of global healthcare for children,” said Dr Trish Scanlan, Interim Director of CHI’s Department of Global Health. Dr Scanlan also serves as paediatric oncologist at Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and as CEO, Their Lives Matter (TLM). 

While the CHI Global Health Department promotes and supports Irish-led best practices in international paediatrics, Dr Scanlan emphasised the win-win nature of global health work, whereby Irish-trained healthcare workers learn as much from their colleagues in lower-resource settings as those colleagues learn from their Irish-trained counterparts.