WFPHA - World Federation of Public Health Associations

20/06/2026

Today, 20 June 2026, the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) joins the global community to observe World Refugee Day.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the cornerstone of international refugee law, and its theme could not be more urgent: "Until Everyone Is Safe."

The right to seek safety was made for all of us.

And yet, with over 123 million people forcibly displaced worldwide, that promise remains unfinished.

Forced displacement is not only a humanitarian crisis: it is a public health emergency.

Refugees and displaced populations face critical barriers to healthcare, mental health support, maternal care, and disease prevention.

They are disproportionately exposed to communicable diseases, gender-based violence, malnutrition, and trauma, and systematically excluded from the health systems that could protect them.

As public health advocates, we affirm: refugee health is global health.

Access to protection is inseparable from the right to health.

We call on governments and global institutions to ensure:

🔹 Universal, non-discriminatory access to essential health services for all displaced persons

🔹Adequate funding for mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings

🔹Full implementation of the 1951 Refugee Convention and its health-related provisions

Until everyone is safe, we show up.

Learn more here: https://www.unhcr.org/events/world-refugee-day-2026

19/06/2026

Our official side event, "Bridging Health and Peace: Accelerating the GHPI in Turbulent Times," with the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), was in full swing.

Hear some quotes from our CEO, Prof Bettina Borisch:

🔹 A child living in fear cannot achieve their potential.

🔹 As public health professionals, our responsibility is not only to prevent disease, but also to build societies that nurture peace.

🔹 At the WFPHA, we believe that health can be a pathway to peace.

🔹 Trust is the foundation of peaceful societies.

🔹 Peace is not only the work of diplomats and politicians, but peace is also the work of nurses, community health workers, family doctors, researchers, teachers, and public health professionals.

19/06/2026

Today, June 19, 2026, the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) joins the global community to observe the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Established to commemorate the UN Security Council's historic 2008 resolution condemning sexual violence as a tactic of war, this day demands our attention on one of the most devastating public health and human rights crises of our time.

Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) is a dangerous weapon used to terrorize, displace, and assert control over communities. It includes r**e, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, and forced marriage. While women and girls are disproportionately targeted, this violence also systematically affects men, boys, and members of the LGBTQI+ community.

The physical and psychological toll on survivors is catastrophic, resulting in complex physical injuries, sexually transmitted infections, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and long-lasting intergenerational trauma.

Tragically, fear and cultural stigma prevent the vast majority of survivors from seeking help or reporting these crimes. It is estimated that for every single r**e reported in a conflict zone, 10 to 20 cases go entirely undocumented.

When survivors do come forward, they often face medical and legal systems that lack specialized training, leading to further marginalization and re-traumatization.

As public health advocates, we must push for a world where the burden of shame is shifted away from the survivors and placed entirely on the offenders.

We call on governments and global institutions to ensure:

🔹 Safe, unimpeded access to trauma-informed, gender-sensitive, inclusive medical and psychosocial care.

🔹 Funding for specialized training for healthcare professionals to ethically and sensitively support all survivors without judgment.

🔹 Robust justice mechanisms that hold offenders accountable and provide meaningful reparations to victims.

Today, we honor the incredible resilience of survivors worldwide and pay tribute to those who have lost their lives fighting to eradicate these crimes.

We must break the cycle of violence, replace stigma with solidarity, and ensure that no survivor is left behind.

**einwar

18/06/2026

Last, our leadership team, President Raman Bedi, CEO Prof Bettina Borisch, and COO Marta Lomazzi, met with the Thai national delegation to discuss future collaborations with the WFPHA and the Global Public Health Alliance.

Learn more here: https://gphalliance.org/

17/06/2026

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) represent the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. While lifestyle factors have long dominated the NCD prevention agenda, a growing body of evidence highlights the underappreciated role of infectious agents and immune-mediated pathways in the initiation and progression of several major NCDs.

Vaccination - delivered across the life course rather than confined to childhood - offers a powerful, underutilized tool not only to reduce the direct burden of infectious disease but to interrupt pathways leading to chronic conditions.

Despite this evidence base, life-course immunization remains fragmented across health systems, inadequately integrated into NCD prevention strategies, and unevenly financed.

Today's side event convened health leaders, technical experts, and patient representatives to examine the evidecnce, share country experiences, and identfiy concrete opportunities for policy action.

Learn more here: https://www.wfpha.org/life-course-immunization/

15/06/2026

HPV remains one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable cancers worldwide.

At last month's high-level side event, we heard a case study from Italy.

Adolescents aged 11 to 14 were given free vaccinations. Men aged 11-26 who had never been vaccinated were also given free access.

This brings into question the right of access to vaccines and general healthcare, and how to offer free vaccinations to risk groups (such as HIV positive individuals).

Supporting school-based vaccination programs generally helps boost vaccination coverage.

Learn more here: https://www.wfpha.org/advancing-adult-hpv-vaccination/

Expanding adult HPV vaccination reduce diseases burden, strengthen long-term health outcomes, and accelerates cancer prevention goals.

15/06/2026

Imagine a world with no more cervical cancer.

Well, Australia hasn't eradicated it yet, but it is officially on track to become the first country in the world to do so by 2035.

At today's high-level side event, we looked at a case study from Australia:

As inequities in coverage are widening (for instance, in remote areas), a life-course approach, where we connect people at key points in their lives, reach people where they are, will allow this idea to become a reality.

Australia aims to vaccinate all adolescents by 2030.

Prevention is not just one of the responses; it is the main response.

Learn more here: https://www.wfpha.org/advancing-adult-hpv-vaccination/

14/06/2026

The non-Indigenous people are the ones who make the most noise about empowering the Indigenous. Yet, a powerful quote from yesterday was "nothing about us, without us."

Last month, our Immediate Past President, Emma Rawson-Te Patu, held a side event titled "Knowledge as a Driver of Decolonizing Governance for Global Health."

This workshop presented participants with multi-generational and interdisciplinary perspectives on the role of knowledge as a mechanism for decolonizing governance in global health.

Through activities and robust dialogue, critical thinking about the role of information sharing, human connection, and discourse in promoting a more equitable and just future for all was encouraged.

13/06/2026

Looking back at the 79th World Health Assembly Week, where we got together with various colleagues, including ones from the Junior Doctor Network and the World Medical Association Medical Students Associations.

Networking and building connections are critical to moving things forward.

Especially in public health, nothing can be done alone or in silos.

Join us in Cape Town, South Africa, this September for our 18th World Congress on Public Health to discuss health equity and more, and to explore how we can create a better, healthier world for all.

Register here: https://www.wcph.org/registration/

12/06/2026

HPV vaccination has evolved significantly over the past decade, but there's still a lot of work to do.

At today's high-level side event, we looked at a case study from Sweden:

The HPV vaccine was introduced to girls in 2010 and to boys in 2020. Vaccinations began to be recorded in schools to improve access, and were administered by school nurses during compulsory education. This is especially important considering that more than 20% of the Swedish population is foreign-born.

Delivery architecture in these cases matters as much as implementation.

Policy discussion is now increasingly focused on adults, with a national cervical cancer elimination strategy being launched in 2021. This helps cover the "missed cohort," which consists of women outside the typical age range.

Uptake depends on delivery of the intervention, and with Sweden's Universal Health Coverage (UHC), its goal of HPV elimination by 2027 looks within reach.

They have relatively modest regional variations, which makes this all the more possible.

Of course, some barriers include communication fatigue following the pandemic years. Thus, advocating for an integrated life course approach to ensure that previously missed populations can also access the vaccine is critical.

For more information, read here: https://www.wfpha.org/advancing-adult-hpv-vaccination/