The Centre for Tobacco Control in Africa (CTCA) will present two oral and three poster presentations at current ongoing International Conference on Public Health priorities in the 21st Century: The Endgame for tobacco in New Delhi, from September 10-12, 2013.
The purpose of the four-day conference is two-fold:
1. Develop multi sectoral partnerships and taking tobacco control beyond health sector to integrate it with the global development goals and appropriate treatment under trade agreements and treaties.
2. Provide a platform not only for knowledge transfer and information sharing, but agenda setting for future pathways of the global tobacco control movement to put an end to tobacco.
The first two pre-conference days focused on Data to action: Building blocks for Tobacco Control Research, Advancing tobacco control in developing countries – Experiences from project STEPS, Integrating Tobacco Control and Health promotion in health professions education in India and pre-conference brainstorming on NCDs and the law.
DATA TO ACTION: Building blocks for Tobacco Control Research
This pre-conference workshop on September 9 – 10, 2013 focused on the global epidemic of tobacco, policy developments including the global NCD targets, global tobacco surveillance system, data to inform and evaluate tobacco control measures, evidence to policy action, impactful policy messaging, successful International research collaborations and capacity building, writing and publishing and research ideas.
The key messages were;
• Translating data into policy actions and impactful programming using data.
• Strengthening International and local research collaborations for capacity building and funding
• Dissemination of tobacco control related research and programs is important and can be done using various avenue
Integrating TC and Health promotion in Health professionals education in India
India shared their experience of integrating tobacco control into medical education (undergraduate and post graduate). A draft curriculum and regulations have been drafted and submitted to the Ministry of Education for approval. The current practice has been that different areas of medical education include separate teaching on TC but this is a fragmented approach, which does not fully prepare a Medical Doctor to handle the different elements the human body suffers as a result of tobacco.
The following key recommendations were made;
• Include a total of 140 hours in the undergraduate program
• Include TC projects research, surveys and interventions as part of the medical training
• Coordinate and cooperate at departmental level in the undergraduate and post graduate medical education
• Include TC in the assessment of post graduate courses
• Include a sensitization on TC in the compulsory three-day training for all medical Teachers.
Brainstorming session on NCDs and the Law
The brainstorming session came up with the following recommendations;
• Faculties of Law should be supported to introduce public health into the law curriculum with a bias on Tobacco control
• Attach Lawyers to Public Health programs such that they get a better understanding of the principles of public health to be better advocates for instance in tobacco control laws
• Make evidence based tobacco control laws with high public and political support
• Work with the Lawyers for better TC law enforcement