Public Lecture: The NHS and Global Health

Professor Colin McInnes

Professor Colin McInnes

19 November 2019

The ability of diseases to move rapidly across boundaries and continents in a global age, and the challenge this poses to the idea of a purely ‘national’ health service, will be the focus of a public lecture at Aberystwyth University on Wednesday 27 November.

Organised by the Learned Society of Wales and the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University, ‘Beyond the NHS: Is Health Really ‘Global’?’ will be delivered by global health policy expert Professor Colin McInnes.

Holder of the UNESCO Chair in HIV/AIDS at the Department of International Politics until 2018, Professor McInnes was recently appointed the University’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Knowledge Exchange and Innovation.

The lecture is part of the Learned Society’s contribution to the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the NHS and the Department of International Politics Centenary Speakers Series.

Professor Milja Kurki, Director of Research in the Department of International Politics, said:  “This is an excellent opportunity to consider the vital questions about the provision of health care.  Professor McInnes is a world-leading researcher on global health policy who has worked with the UK and Welsh governments, as well as the World Health Organisation, and is therefore uniquely placed to take on the challenges of considering health globally.  His lecture will address burning questions such as to what extent is health no longer a national issue but requires global solutions; a concern which has been at the forefront of public policy-making debates.”

The lecture will take place in the Main Hall of the International Politics and History & Welsh History Building, starting at 6pm on Wednesday 27 November. Entry is free and all are welcome.

About Professor Colin McInnes

An international expert on global health and security, Professor Colin McInnes holds a personal chair in the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth and is the University’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Knowledge Exchange and Innovation.

Since 2014, he has been a Non-Executive Director of the UK National Commission (UKNC) for UNESCO, with special responsibility for the Social and Human Sciences. He was elected Chair of the UKNC in 2019 and works closely with the British government, UNESCO designations and UNESCO HQ officials in Paris.

A former holder of the UNESCO Chair in HIV/AIDS (2007-2018), Professor McInnes received the Special Achievement Award at the inaugural Wales Social Research awards in 2017 for his 'outstanding personal achievement in research'.

He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts.