A healthy Utrecht for all: how where you're born determines your chances at a healthy life
November 21, 2023, Neude Library
During the European Conference on Tropical Medicine and International Health (ECTMIH), held from November 20-23, 2023, in Utrecht, Van Hier Naar [...] and the Global Health Knowledge Center organized two public dialogues for the ECTMIH conference at the Neude Library in Utrecht.
The second dialogue was held in Dutch, aimed not only at ECTMIH participants but also at engaging Utrecht residents in the program. This public dialogue highlighted the significant health disparities within affluent areas of the Netherlands and even within a progressive city like Utrecht.
Key discussion points included:
- Health inequalities: Exploring the sharp differences in life expectancy and perceived health between neighborhoods, emphasizing that where one is born profoundly shapes the chances at a healthy life.
- Determinants of health: Examining the harmful role of the environment in shaping life opportunities and health outcomes, raising questions about the injustice embedded in these disparities.
- Critical factors: Delving into crucial aspects like the first 1,000 days of life, the exposome, and the role of ethnicity in determining health trajectories.
The audience engaged in conversation with three experts:
- Hafez Ismaili Mâhamdi is a medical ethicist and member of the Council for Public Health & Society. He emphasized the moral responsibility of parents and society as a whole to safeguard the health of future generations.
- Kitty Bloemenkamp is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UMC Utrecht. She discussed factors that strongly impact maternal and child health.
- Mirthe Muilwijk is an epidemiologist and postdoc at Amsterdam UMC and specializes in the impact of ethnicity on health disparities.