Field Trips | 24 January 2024
Geopolitics, Human Security and Health Equity politics, a combination of political and geographic factors relating to health. One of the approaches to generate evidence to guide such policy is that of the social determinants of health. According to this framework, population health, employment, job insecurity, transport, poverty and housing are key factors of health status and health inequalities in populations. However, health is also shaped by geopolitical determinants –that is, determinants related to governments, geographies, policies, and the interests of countries and the relationship between them. Geopolitical determinants are distinct from other health determinants in that they are explicitly reflected in entities such as regions and continental geographies, and proximity and/or distance from neighbours.
Geopolitical perspectives can be helpful to make more comprehensive and better-informed decisions on health. Such an approach could improve the reach of public health evidence and the way it is used to shape advocacy. Understanding health challenges and policy responses as geopolitically shaped could help identify unintended consequences of not factoring in geopolitical determinants of health in countries, by allowing the inclusion of policy experiences from other settings.
The Prince Mahidol Award Conference in 2024 (PMAC 2024) will be organized under the topic of “Geopolitics, Human Security and Health Equity in an Era of Polycrises”, with 3 sub-themes 1) International and multi-sectoral governance of health 2) Health and health systems in a multipolar world and 3) Decolonization – Global Health and Colonialism. The PMAC 2024 field trip will be arranged to share experience in geopolitical determinants related to the theme and subthemes. The concept notes of three site visits proposed for PMAC 2024 are described below:
Site 1
Siriraj-SSPO: A Jigsaw Puzzle to Strengthen the Health System
Location : Sirindhorn School of Prosthetics and Orthotics
In a world where health policy and geopolitics are increasingly intertwined, the Sirindhorn School of Prosthetics & Orthotics (SSPO) at the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, is a unique intersection. Renowned for its expertise in prosthetics and orthotics, SSPO is more....
Site 2
Medical Technology in the Current Geopolitics: Competition, Collaboration, and Technology Transfer
Location : The Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University
Site 3
Harmony and Peaceful Land between Local and Migrants to Sustain Economic and Equitable Health Accessibility
Location : Samut Sakhon Province
Samut Sakhon Province is in the central region, which is 30 kilometers from Bangkok and 2 kilometers away from the sea. It is renowned as the center for the production and processing of fisheries and agricultural products. There are 9,578 factories and a total working-age population of appr....
