Lord David Owen was the guest speaker at a special joint meeting of the Manchester Medical Society and The University of Manchester Medical School on Wednesday October 26. The former foreign secretary and EU special envoy launched a new initiative, which is guaranteed to put Manchester at the forefront of global health. He gave the Doubleday Lecture on behalf of the Manchester Medical School, and also to help support Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC), of which UHSM is a founding member, as they announce their new global health focus.

Lord Owen spoke about how access to and the delivery of healthcare is a product of politics and economics, and he endorsed Manchester’s role as a champion of global health, illustrated by its response to natural disasters, complex emergencies and the delivery of humanitarian assistance over the last 25 years.

Professor Tony Redmond, who has been appointed by MAHSC to head up its global health initiative, has an impressive track record of involvement in international emergency medical assistance, spanning over two decades -most recently when he headed up a medical team in China following the 2008 earthquakes and again in 2010 with the Haiti earthquake. He believes that as improved communications and travel have increased people’s mobility, health education must now be seen in a global context.

“Hospitals need to be equipped to treat diseases not traditionally seen in the UK, and requires the training for healthcare staff to identify them. Countries need to work together to share solutions to common problems, “he explains.

Afterwards, Professor Ashley Woodcock OBE gave his address as the newly-elected President of the Manchester Medical Society. His work has already earned him huge recognition in environmental campaigning, and his research on CFCs was highlighted in the presentation which earned the Nobel Prize for Al Gore for his work on climate change in 2007.