GAWCH Launch

The Global Alliance on War, Conflict & Health launches 1st July 2022

University of Southampton (UoS) Research Fellows Dr Jack Denny (Engineering) and Dr Becky Brown (Medicine) who work within CIRU (Clinical Informatics Research Unit) have recently become Co-Executive Directors for The Global Alliance on War, Conflict and Health. The Alliance is a global community aiming to strengthen action on war and conflict as well as ensure health is protected, justice is upheld, and peace is promoted. The Global Alliance brings together academic institutions, NGOs and charities around the world and is officially being launched at a Hybrid event in Beirut, Lebanon, as well as online, on Friday 1st July. Director of CIRU, Professor James Batchelor is one of 3 Co-Chairs of the alliance and the only UK University representative on the Executive Board.

Dr Jack Denny and Dr Becky Brown are also heavily involved in the International Blast Injury Research Network (IBRN) which they set up in 2019, to bring engineers and clinicians together to address real-word problems and to focus on the humanitarian side of things. During this time the Global Alliance on War, Conflict and Health was being conceptualised by Samer Jabbour, Professor of Public Health Practice at the American University of Beirut, amongst others. It was Professor Jabbour who initially contacted Professor Batchelor after hearing about the IBRN.

The Alliance’s mission focuses on the research behind improving this healthcare, on developing sustainable programmes, and on bringing different organisations together to work towards common goals.

To read more about the Alliance, visit the UoS Medically Speaking article here or visit their official website.