Advocates for Dignity cordially invites you to the Peace Summit to celebrate the International Day of Peace, in partnership with Nossal Institute for Global Health, Melbourne University,

at 7pm on Tuesday 28 September.

In 2021, as we heal from the effects of the pandemic, we consider ways of recovering collectively as people and reimagining a more equitable, sustainable and inclusive world.

In the spirit of this vision, the theme for this year’s International Day of Peace is ‘recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world’.

Join us as we delve into this topic!Who are the speakers?

Keynote Speaker: Professor Barbara McPake

Professor Barbara McPake is a health economist specialising in health policy and systems research. She has 30 years’ experience in these areas based in four university departments.Currently she is the Director of the Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne and one of two Research Directors of ‘ReBUILD’ a UK Department for International Development funded Research Programme Consortium on health systems development.

Barbara’s research focuses on the application of economic theories and methods to the understanding of issues in health system strengthening in low and middle-income countries. Barbara is currently focused on the economic, demographic and epidemiological transitions undergone by middle income countries, and how health systems respond to questions of emerging infectious diseases exacerbated by economic transition, rising income and wealth inequalities, and epidemics of chronic disease.

In her keynote address, Barbara will delve into the history of vaccines and paints a picture of where we are at with the global race for the Covid-19 vaccines.

Speaker #2: Dr Tori Oliver

Dr Tori Oliver holds a Bachelor of Medicinal Chemistry and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Science and is a Senior Technical Advisor in the Maternal Sexual and Reproductive Health Unit at the Nossal Institute for Global Health.

Prior to joining the Nossal Institute, Tori worked as part of a public private partnership for the development of a novel pharmaceutical technology for the prevention of postpartum haemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal death in low-resource settings. In this role, Tori managed the market access program for the project, in which she led a large-scale formative implementation research program exploring the perceived acceptability and operational feasibility of the novel product amongst community members, healthcare providers and policy-makers in high need settings.

Throughout her professional career, Tori has developed and maintained a keen interest in understanding and addressing inequities in access to essential medicines. This has extended into vaccine equity in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a topic on which Tori develops and delivers education content for undergraduate and masters students at the University of Melbourne.

Speaker #3: Baneen Alrubayi

Baneen’s story is one of a refugee experience, having travelled to Australia in-utero, crossing the perilous seas via an illegal boat with her parents who had dreams of a safer life and to set roots in a new community. For her, that community was Cobram, a beautiful rural town on the banks of the Murray River.

As a young Muslim female, daughter of refugees, coming from a low-income family, attending a public school, and being born and raised in rural Australia, she has been exposed to various forms of inequalities. This has allowed her to understand the influence of social determinants of health on a person’s wellbeing. Baneen moved to Sydney in 2019 to pursue a career in medicine and as a current third-year medical student on full-time placement in Greater Western Sydney, she understands that holistic patient-centered care requires targeted strategies informed by community needs and effective policies and health system governance.

Her knowledge and experiences have elicited a passion to develop her leadership skills to advocate for rural and global health. Baneen was awarded the 2019 Young Australian of the year for the Moira Shire and is currently AMSA Global Health’s (ASMA GH) Co-National Coordinator and the National Rural Health Student Network’s (NRHSN) Publications and Sponsorship Officer. She aspires to become a Rural Generalist with advanced skills in obstetrics and gynaecology and to remain in the field of health advocacy.