VitalTalks: Future of Public Health

We’ve known about the health harms of lead exposure for more than 1,000 years. But many people, including children, are still exposed to lead through various sources including paint, water and soil. In this episode, Dan Kass, Senior Vice President of Environmental, Climate and Urban Health at Vital Strategies joins us to discuss this pervasive public health problem, what governments can do to monitor lead exposure and what you can do to protect yourself from lead poisoning.

Improving diets by creating and maintaining healthier food systems and environments is paramount to addressing the $2 trillion global obesity epidemic. It’s a task that seems almost impossible under the deluge of ultra-processed products that make up most of our food intake. In this episode, Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health joins us to discuss her new report, “Food, nutrition and the right to health,” and how food security and nutrition are necessary elements for global progress toward all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
 
Featuring:
 
- Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the R...

The U.S. drug overdose crisis has created new urgency to shift from punitive measures to a public health perspective, focused on harm reduction. Opioid settlements, agreements between governments and pharmaceutical entities, offer an opportunity to allocate funds toward preventing future crises.

Christine Minhee, Founder, OpioidSettlementTracker.com and Kate Boulton, Senior Legal Technical Advisor at Vital Strategies, highlight the importance of transparency and public involvement in decision-making processes on how these resources will be used, while discussing how health advocates can access the funds for harm reduction initiatives. Discover how these resources empower individuals and communities...

This episode features highlights from our VitalTalks Live event, held in New York.

One in three women worldwide have been subjected to physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes—an alarming statistic that only scratches the surface of this global atrocity.

The event heard from experts who are using innovative data and advocacy to help bring gender-based violence out of the shadows and into the public eye.

You can watch the full video of the event at https://www.vitalstrategies.org/can-data-end-gender-based-violence/

Speakers include:

Our first interview on this episode is with Lili Farhang, co-director of Human Impact Partners (HIP), a national public health nonprofit. Lili discusses HIP's mission to leverage public health for policy and systems change by addressing power imbalances through equity and collective power that centers social justice movements.

Then we are joined by Hattie from ANSWER Detroit, a sex worker justice collective. Hattie discusses how their mutual aid network supports sex workers' health and well-being, and the significance of public health officials supporting mutual aid groups and including leaders from marginalized communities.

Speakers include:<...

Lack of investment in Civil Registration and Vital Statistics has been called one of the most important shortfalls in global development over the last 30 years, and the results are devastating.

Tens of millions without identity and rights. Governments flying blind.

For the first time in history, we have the technology, tools and know-how to make every person count. We’ve proven that in Bangladesh, where birth and death registration have been boosted fivefold since 2015.

This episode features a recording of our recent CRVS roundtable event, where you’ll hear from lead...

In this episode, we discuss funding trends in global public health and the potential that new or different financing models have to catalyze impact.

The episode features Ash Rogers, Co-CEO, Lwala Community Alliance; Julius Mbeya, Co-CEO, Lwala Community Alliance and Grace Chiang Nicolette, Vice President of Programming and External Relations, Center for Effective Philanthropy.

The Lwala Community Alliance is a community-led organization based in Kenya that strengthens the capacity of rural communities to advance their own well-being. Lwala is also a grant recipient from Yield Giving, a fund established by McKenzie Scott to p...

In this episode we meet with experts who are advancing new models of collaboration that put countries in the global south at the forefront.

We're joined by Dr. Mamka Anyona to discuss the Health4Life Fund, a U.N. led global financing partnership to accelerate action towards noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health in low- and middle-income countries. What makes the Health4Life Fund innovative is its aim to transform the NCDs and mental health landscape through a country-led approach that centers collective action and health equity.

We also discuss new models for co...

In part two of our series on health equity, we asked four more guests for their perspectives on health equity and what it means to them.

This episode features:

- Linda Villarosa, Author and contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine

- Lola Adedokun, Executive Director of the Aspen Global Innovators Group

- Carol McGruder, Co-Chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council

- Dr. Phil Gardiner, Co-Chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council

What does health equity mean to you and how can it help advance public health?

As we launch our revamped VitalTalks podcast, we asked public health experts and those deeply engaged in equity work to join us to share their perspective in this special two-part series.

Guests on this episode include:

- Neena Prasad, Food Policy Program Lead, Bloomberg Philanthropies

- Keecha Harris, President of Keecha Harris and Associates

- Pedro de Paula, Country Director for the Vital Strategies Brazil office