The Future of Global Health. The Main Healthcare Systemic Challenge: Prioritization with Yann Meunier, MD

Main points

• Speaker introduction (international experience and expertise / pharmaceutical industry and corporate background) 
• Presentation goals (road map for reaching maximum efficiency and efficacy in providing healthcare across the globe / providing food for thought to frame issues)
• Global and healthcare challenges: The African example
• The Clinton foundation as an example of unreliable funding
• One requirement to face multiple challenges: Prioritization
• Analogy: Medical emergency department
• Triage process
• Criterion #1 for global health: ROI with several dimensions (medical, financial, societal, political, moral, and personal)
• First concrete example: Acute vs chronic disease (tetanus vs HIV/AIDS)
• HIV/AIDS situation description
• HIV/AIDS age distribution
• HIV/AIDS treatment yearly cost (for life)
• Maternal and neonatal tetanus situation description
• 2022 study: Vaccination coverage of mothers in East Africa 
• The financial calculus 
• The question: Why is the choice not made in favor of the tetanus vaccination?
• Conclusion
• Fear: Resurgence of historical diseases with COVID-19 is in the news (TB, cholera, polio, HIV/AIDS, malaria)  
• Second concrete example: Prevention vs cure (the tetanus example)
• Conditions for success (avoiding bureaucracy and making the hard choices)
• Solutions

• • Priority #1: Good health
  • Three values (equity / solidarity / liberty)
  • One need: One accepted and respected leadership
  • One urgency: A general political consensus
  • Two sub-priorities: Nutrition and education
  • One must: Erasing the African debt
  • Three strategies: A new and serial approach / Thinking locally and acting globally / Consolidating global health 

• Six suggestions: Mergers, coordinating superstructure, drastic limitation of face to face international conferences and congresses, the right to interfere in countries for healthcare reasons (particularly transmissible diseases) and the creation of global health blue helmet brigades, having poverty as the #1 risk factor for many diseases)

• The past and the future
• Food for thought
• Vision
• Conclusion

BIO

Dr. Yann Meunier is an international and multifaceted healthcare professional and a pioneer in academia, healthcare provision (in clinical settings and public health programs), research, and business. 

During his education,

He studied medicine at Paris V University (France), the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and The George Washington University (USA). He holds specialty degrees in emergency medicine (Paris XII University), and tropical diseases (Paris VI University), a certificate from the ECFMG, a certificate from Harvard University in internal medicine and two certificates from Stanford University in communication. 

During his career,

In Academia

He was Assistant Professor in Tropical Diseases and Public Health (Paris VI University), Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine (The George Washington University); Lecturer (The George Washington University Center for International Health), Director (Stanford Health Promotion Network), Manager in Health Promotion (Stanford Health Improvement Program), Mentor (Stanford Medscholars Research Fellowship Program), and Instructor (Stanford Health Improvement Program)

He is widely published in the international medical literature and is the author or co-author of nine books on global health and tropical diseases (Oxford University Press and Springer published two).

As Healthcare Provider

Clinically

He was (1) Private General Practitioner in France, Singapore (only European Private General Practitioner in the country), New Caledonia (first and only Private General Practitioner on the island of Lifou), and Nigeria (only European Private General Practitioner in Lagos), (2) Tropical Diseases Consultant (at the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris, France), (3) Chief Medical Officer for Chevron Oil Co. in Papua New Guinea (PNG), (4) Corporate Physician in Cameroon (for Cellucam), Nigeria (for Spie-Batignolles and Schlumberger), and China (for EDF), (5) he was the team Physician during corporate trips in Gambia and Egypt (for Bosch), and Congo-Brazzaville (for a timber consortium), and (6) he worked as Emergency Medicine Specialist for SAMU 94 (at the Henri Mondor hospital in Creteil, France).

In Public Health

He (1) created a public health program for about 10,000 Kutubu-area villagers in the Southern Highlands province of PNG, (2) wrote a report on public health priorities in Lifou, (3) conducted public health programs and epidemiological surveys in Senegal (for USAID), China, Papua New Guinea, Haiti, and New Caledonia, and (4) created and delivered health promotion and preventive medicine tools at Stanford University for the Stanford University staff and the San Francisco Bay area population and corporations, in particular several located in Silicon Valley.

As Researcher

He led or participated in clinical trials providing new treatments for HIV/AIDS, tropical (malaria, intestinal nematodoses, amebiasis, giardiasis), cardiovascular, hematological and respiratory diseases.

As Business Executive

He was the Director of International Corporate Affairs and Business Development for Stanford Hospital and Clinics in Palo Alto, CA, Research Manager for Hoffmann LaRoche drug Co. (in charge of antibiotics and anti-parasitic drugs) and Export Medical Director for Delagrange drug Co. (in charge of Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle-East, and Asia) in Paris, France. He was Co-founder and Business Manager of International Business Proactivity Pte Ltd in Singapore. He created his own healthcare consulting company HealthConnect International LLC, in Silicon Valley, CA, and is now its CEO and a Global Health Expert. 

Dr. Yann Meunier is an Honorary Member of the Brazilian National Academy of Medicine, Associate Member of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, and Fellow of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine. He is listed by the Institute of Medicine, U.S., Division of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (celebrities, public figures). He is fluent in English, French, and Portuguese, including medical terminology.