WHO CC Events

Past Events

Industry Funding of Patient Organizations in the United Kingdom: A Retrospective Study of Commercial Determinants, Funding Concentration and Disease Prevalence

Thursday, March 2, 2023
11:00 AM EST

Arianna Gentilini, PhD candidate in the LSE Health Policy Department and a Visiting Fellow at Imperial College
Iva Parvanova, PhD candidate in the LSE Health Policy Department

Slides

Transparency in Healthcare Systems and Vulnerable Groups

Thursday, November 10, 2022
11:00 AM EST

Dr Elizabeth Sáenz, Liaison Officer at the UNODC-WHO Programme on Drug Dependence Treatment and Care
Dr Jillian Kohler, Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

Privacy Implications of Direct-to-Patient Commercial Virtual Care

Thursday, October 13, 2022
11:00 AM EST

Dr. Sheryl Spithoff, Assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto
Dr Jillian Kohler, Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

Understanding Compliance Risks within the Pharmaceutical Industry (webinar)

Tuesday, June 28, 2022
10:00 AM EST

Gavin Proudley, Head of Third Party Risk Proposition at Dow Jones Risk & Compliance
Dr Jillian Kohler, Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
Emilio Rubio Ph.D, Head of Ethics, Risk and Compliance at Sandoz
Elizabeth Humphrey, Financial Crime Researcher at Themis

Empire Of Pain: The Sackler Family, Purdue Pharma and the Opioid Crisis

Monday, May 2, 2022
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EST

Presented by: Patrick Radden Keefe
Patrick Radden Keefe is a long-time staff writer at The New Yorker and author of the international bestsellers Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, which was awarded the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction, and Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, which received the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Orwell Prize for Political Writing. He is also the creator and host of the 8-part podcast "Wind of Change," which The Guardian named the #1 podcast of 2020. His new book, Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks will be published in June.

Hosted by:

Dr. Jillian Kohler
Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto and Director at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Transparency & Accountability in the Pharmaceutical Sector
&
Andrea Bowra
Ph.D. Student in Public Health Sciences at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

Supported by the Connaught Global Challenge Award & the Graduate Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Poster

Infodemiology, the Infodemic, and Combating Misinformation during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Monday, January 24, 2022
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EST

Presented by: Dr. Tim K. Mackey, MAS, PhD
Dr. Mackey is a Professor at UC San Diego in the Global Health Program, the Director of the Global Health Policy and Data Institute, the Editor-in-Chief of JMIR Infodemiology, a faculty affiliate at the San Diego Supercomputer Center, and is also the CEO and co-founder of the National Institutes of Health funded startup S-3 Research. He has co-authored over 200 articles in a wide array of interdisciplinary journals with a focus on topics in global health, health policy, global health governance, pharmaceutical policy, public health and data science, and infodemiology. He has also acted as a past consultant for the World Health Organization, U.S. Department of Justice and several other organizations.

Hosted by: Dr. Jillian Kohler
Dr. Kohler is a Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. She is also the Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Transparency and Accountability in the Pharmaceutical Sector.

Supported by the Connaught Global Challenge Award

Poster

Presentation

Corrupting Health Care: The Unequal-by-Design COVID-19 Global Vaccination

Tuesday, December 7, 2021
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EST

Presented by: Dr. Ximena Benavides
Ximena Benavides is a Lecturer in Critical Thinking at Yale University. She is a Fellow at the Yale Institute for Global Health (with GAVI-COVAX), the Yale Law School’s Information Society Project, and the Yale Fox International Program at UBC.

Supported by the Connaught Global Challenge Award

Poster

Corruption Risks in the Deployment of COVID-19 Vaccines: A Clear and Present Threat to Global Public Health

Thursday, November 11, 2021
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM EST

Presented by: Dr. Jillian Kohler
Dr. Kohler is a Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. She is also the Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Transparency and Accountability in the Pharmaceutical Sector.

Hosted by: Dr. Trudo Lemmens
Professor and Scholl Chair in Health Law and Policy,
Faculty of Law, University of Toronto

Supported by the Connaught Global Challenge Award

Poster

Can we move beyond vaccine apartheid? The right to health and global access to COVID vaccines.

Thursday, October 14, 2021
12:30-1:30pm EDT

Presented by Dr. Lisa Forman
Dr. Forman is an Associate Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Her research focuses on the right to health in international human rights law; sustainable development goals: universal health coverage; trade-related intellectual property rights and access to medicines globally; HIV/AIDS treatment; and South African constitutional law related to health.

Hosted by Dr. Jillian Kohler
Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, and Director at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Transparency & Accountability in the Pharmaceutical Sector

Supported by the Connaught Global Challenge Award

Poster

Presentation

How Much Do We Know about COVID-19 Vaccine Deals? The Quest for Transparent and Equitable Vaccine Deployment

Wednesday, June 16, 2021
9:00-10:15am EDT

FEATURING
•   Jonathan Cushing, Head of Global Health, Transparency International
•   Javier Guzman, Director of Global Health Policy and Senior Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development
•   Jillian Kohler, Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Transparency and Accountability in the Pharmaceutical Sector
•   Nicaise Ndembi, Senior Science Advisor, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
•   Natalie Rhodes, Policy Officer, Transparency International
•   David Wilson, Program Director, Health, Nutrition and Population, World Bank
•   Tom Wright, Senior Programme Officer, Transparency International

MODERATOR
• Janeen Madan Keller, Assistant Director of Global Health Policy and Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Global Development

Advancing Anti-Corruption, Transparency and Accountability in the Global Pharmaceutical System

Sponsored by the Connaught Global Challenge Award

Poster

May 10-12, 2021
9:00AM to 12:00 PM EDT

What Do Companies Say When Their Drugs Are Withdrawn From the Market?

Presented by Dr. Joel Lexchin
Professor Emeritus in the School of Health Policy and Management at York University

Supported by the Connaught Global Challenge Award

Poster
Slides

April 8, 2021
12:00PM to 1:00 PM EDT

Sick Stories - Corruption and Health Through the Lens of Independent Documentary Film-Making

Presented by Julia Farrington
Documentary film impact producer, Associate Curator with Doc Society UK's leading organization supporting and promoting documentary films, and founder member of the consultancy International Arts Rights Advisors.

Hosted by Dr. Jillian Kohler
Connaught Scholar, Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, Dalla Lana School of Public Health & Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, and Director at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Transparency & Accountability in the Pharmaceutical Sector

Poster

March 5, 2021
11:00AM to 12:00 PM EST

Can Transparency and Accountability Improve National Essential Medicines Lists?

Presented by Dr. Nav Persaud
The Canada Research Chair in Health Justice and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, and a family physician at St. Michael's Hospital in Unity Health Toronto

Poster

February 11, 2021
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EST

Implications of trade agreements for anti-corruption, transparency and accountability (ACTA) mechanisms in the pharmaceutical sector

The seminar is supported by La Trobe University’s Building Healthy Communities Research Focus Area, the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto, the WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Accountability and Transparency in the Pharmaceutical Sector and the Connaught Global Challenge Award.
December 8, 2020: 5:00-6:00 PM

Speakers:

Jillian Kohler
Connaught Scholar
Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, Dalla Lana School of Public Health & Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto
WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Transparency and Accountability in the Pharmaceutical Sector

Deborah Gleeson
Senior Lecturer in Public Health at La Trobe University

Pharmaceutical politics and policy: The challenges for media

Graduate Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
December 4, 2020: 11:00 AM

Presenter: Keith Gerein, William Southam Journalism Fellow at Massey College, Senior Journalist, Edmonton Journal

Host: Dr. Jillian Kohler, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

Accountability and Transparency in Opioid Access and Use in COVID-19

Session 3: Ensuring Access While Addressing, Preventing, and Reducing Harm
November 20, 2020: 12:00 - 1:00 PM

Dr. Tara Gomes
Epidemiologist and Principal Investigator, Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN), Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute
The changing landscape of opioid-related harm: Evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Dr. Gillian Kolla
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, University of Victoria
Root causes and harm reduction reponses to the Canadian opioid overdose crisis

Lesley Graham
Graduate Student & Pharmacist, Centre for Addictions and Mental Health
Preventing harm from opioids prescribed for acute pain: The role of the pharmacist

Accountability and Transparency in Opioid Access and Use in COVID-19

Session 2: Opioid Practices and Policies: Benefits, Harms, and Opportunities
November 5, 2020: 12:00 - 1:00 PM

Dr. Nanky Rai, Primary Care Physician, Parkdale-Queen West Community Health Centre
Structural Violence, Criminalization and the Dual Crises of Overdose Deaths and COVID19: Reducing Harms Through a Safe Supply
Dr. Brandon Maser, Paediatrics Resident, Hospital for Sick Children
Global Perspectives on the Issues of Opioid Access and Misuse
Milica Pavlovic, JD Candidate 2021, University of Toronto Faculty of Law
Opioid Litigation in Canada and the US: Opportunities, Challenges, and Public Health Implications
Dr. Dan Werb, Research Scientist, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute
TBD

Anti-Corruption, Transparency and Accountability in the Context of COVID-19: A Conversation

October 29, 2020: 1:00 - 2:00 PM
Sponsored by the Connaught Global Challenge Award
Panelists:
Katrina Perehudoff, Post Doctoral Fellow, University of Amsterdam
Marc-André Gagnon, Associate Professor, Carleton University
Anita McGahan, University Professor, University of Toronto
Jonathon Cushing, Head of Projects, Transparency International-UK

Accountability and Transparency in Opioid Access and Use in the Context of COVID-19: A Multi-Stakeholder Webinar Series

Session 1: October 22, 2020, 12:00-1:00PM
Accountability, Transparency, Criminality, and Policy: A Case Study of Illicit Online Opioid Diversion
Dr. Tim Mackey - Associate Professor, University of California, San Diego
Slides from the event
Seminar Session Summary

Award: The Global Undergraduate Awards

When: September 16, 2020

Details: Anna Wong, a Research Assistant for WHO CC, is a winner in the Highly Commended 2020 field in the Law category.

https://undergraduateawards.com/winners/highly-commended-2020

The Global Undergraduate Awards is the world’s leading academic awards programme, open to all undergraduate students in almost every academic discipline and attracting submissions from hundreds of universities on every continent.

Online Seminar: Coronavirus and the Corruption Outbreak

When: Tuesday, June 2, 2020, 2:00-3:00 PM

Presenter: Sarah Steingrüber

Details: Sarah is an independent global health consultant based in Berlin, Germany, who works on anti-corruption, transparency and accountability; access to medicines; global health supply chain; and private sector collective action. She has worked with the World Health Organisation, the Work Bank, GIZ and the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, among others. She was previously the Programme Manager of the Transparency International Health Initiative in London, United Kingdom. Originally from Canada, Sarah has a Specialised Honours BA in Health Sciences from York University in Toronto and studied at Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, LSHTM and Uppsala Universitet in Sweden for her Masters of Science in International Health and Diploma in International Public Health

Workshop: Combating Corruption and Promoting Equity in the Health Sector

When: July 10-11, 2019

Presenter:

Location: UC San Diego Campus, La Jolla, CA

Seminar: Trade agreements and access to affordable medicines: From TRIPS to the USMCA

When: March 28, 2019 – Seminar

Presenter: Dr. Deborah Gleeson, Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology and Public Health at La Trobe University, Australia

Chaired by Professor Lisa Forman with commentary by Professor Jennifer Sellin, Maastricht University.

Location: Health Sciences Building, 155 College St., Room HS574, Toronto, ON

Consultation: Consultation for a proposed Global Network on Anti-Corruption, Transparency and Accountability in Health Systems

When: February 26-28, 2019

Presenter: The Department of Health Systems Governance and Financing and the Department of Gender, Equity and Human Rights at the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are hosting a Consultation for a proposed Global Network on Anti-Corruption, Transparency and Accountability in Health Systems in Geneva on 26-28 February 2019.

Book Launch: Book Launch with Quinn Grundy introduced by Dr. Joel Lexchin, “Infiltrating Healthcare: How Marketing Works Underground to Influence Nurses”

When: 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm, January 10, 2019

Presenter: Author Quinn Grundy, PhD, RN and Dr. Joel Lexchin

Location: Hennick Gallery, 600 University Ave

Details: Dr. Quinn Grundy is a registered nurse and an Assistant Professor with the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. Her research explores industry partnerships in health and healthcare and the implications for health information, healthcare delivery and scientific evidence.

***

Dr. Joel Lexchin is an emergency doctor at the University Health Network and Professor Emeritus at York University. For the past 35 years he has been researching and writing about a wide range of pharmaceutical policy issues and is the author of Doctors in Denial: Why Big Pharma and the Canadian Medical Profession are too close for comfort.

Seminar: The Pharmaceutical Business Principles – an Initiative to Build Integrity within the Pharmaceutical Industry in Latin America

When: November 19, 2018

Presenter: Alma Balcazar, Consultant, Government, Risk and Compliance Governance and Anti-Corruption, Colombia

Location: Room 108, North House, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, 1 Devonshire Place, Toronto, ON

Conference: Canadian Conference on Global Health

When: November 19-21, 2018

Presenter: Fragile Environments and Global Health: Examining Drivers of Change

Location: Hilton Hotel, 145 Richmond Street West,Toronto, ON

Details:

Conference website: http://www.csih.org/en/events/canadian-conference-global-health

Plenary speakers: http://www.csih.org/en/events/canadian-conference-global-health/plenary-speakers-0

Seminar: Corruption and Global Health: A Perspective From Transparency International, UK

When: 12 pm, October 4, 2018

Presenter: Sarah Steingrüber, Programme Manager Global Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Programme Transparency International, London, UK

Location:

Room 850 – Pharmacy Building

144 College Street

Toronto, ON

Seminar: The pharmaceutical industry’s influence on Canadian health care

When: 12 pm, September 26, 2018

Presenter: Jesse McLean, Toronto Star

Location: Room 850 – Pharmacy Building, 144 College Street, Toronto, ON

Details: Toronto Star investigative reporter Jesse McLean takes us inside his reporting exposing the pharmaceutical industry’s influence on Canadian health care.

Seminar: WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Accountability and Transparency for the Pharmaceutical Sector and Health Law, Ethics & Policy Seminar Series: The Benefit and Risks of Expedited Development and Regulatory Approval of New Drugs

When: 12:30 pm, Thursday, January 18, 2018

Presenter: Aaron Kesselheim, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director, Program on Regulation, Therapeutics, and Law (PORTAL)

Location: Falconer Hall (Solarium) – University of Toronto, 84 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON

Workshop: Governance of Pharmaceuticals Policy

When: 9:00 am to 5:00PM, September 29, 2017

Presenter:

Location: Governance of Pharmaceuticals Policy Workshop, Munk School of Global Affairs – University of Toronto, 315 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON

Details:

Agenda

Corruption, understood as “the misuse of entrusted power for private gain,” is considered to be one of the biggest barriers to human development and economic growth. Corruption is without borders; it can be found in any country, in different forms, levels, and types of organizations and institutions . In the health sector annually, an estimated $5.3 trillion is spent worldwide on providing health services, yet as much as 6 percent or $300 billion USD is lost to corruption and errors according to the World Health Organization. Corruption negatively impacts public health budgets, the price of health services and medicines, and the quality of care and medical products; as well, it threatens a country’s ability to provide universal health coverage by increasing the price of health care. Corruption diverts resources from the public sector, making it difficult to appropriately fund operations and maintenance that help ensure increased access and quality care. The pharmaceutical sector is particularly vulnerable to corruption given it is lucrative, technically complex, and composed of many stakeholders with varying degrees of accountability.

This one day seminar will provide an opportunity for health care professionals and researchers to gain a deeper understanding of how corruption and lack of good governance can have an impact on pharmaceutical services and importantly provide strategies and tactics to educate participants on how to counter vulnerabilities within the sector.

Seminar: Tackling corruption in procurement: how open contracting improved healthcare in Nigeria, Ukraine and Honduras

When: 12 pm, September 28, 2017

Presenter: Lucas Amin, Consultant, Transparency International UK

Location: Room 450 – Pharmacy Building, 144 College Street, Toronto, ON

Details:

Hosted by: Dr. Jillian Kohler

T: (416) 946-8708

E: jillian.kohler@utoronto.ca

Book Launch: Doctors in Denial: Why Big Pharma and the Canadian medical profession are too close for comfort

When: 7-9 pm, June 13, 2017

Presenter:

Location: Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Avenue, Toronto, ON

Details: Book Launch for Joel Lexchin

Seminar: Should Canada Develop A List Of Essential Medicines?

When: 3-5 pm, May 23, 2017

Presenter:

Nicola Magrini, Secretary of the Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines; Policy, Access and Use Team; Department of Essential Medicines and Health Products (EMP/PAU); World Health Organization
Lars Gustaffson, Professor, Senior Consultant; Division of Clinical Pharmacology; Department of Laboratory Medicine; Karolinska Institutet; Karolinska University Hospital

Location: Room N108, North House, Munk School of Global Affairs – University of Toronto, 1 Devonshire Place, Toronto, Ontario

Details: The World Health Organization recommends that each state define its own list of essential medicines. Essential medicines lists generally contain hundreds of medicines including treatments for acute conditions (e.g. pneumonia, anaphylaxis, sprained ankles) and chronic diseases (e.g. diabetes, HIV-AIDS, hypertension). Lists of essential medicines can help governments ensure adequate healthcare services are delivered by identifying the medications that are needed by people. More than 100 countries have developed essential medicine lists, Canada is not one of them. Should Canada develop a list of essential medicines? We will learn from two international experts about the benefits and challenges of creating an essential medicines list: Dr Nicola Magrini from the World Health Organization’s Essential medicines group and Professor Lars Gustaffson from the Swedish “Wise List”. Then we will hear the reactions of Canadian decision makers before we open up the discussion to involve all participants.

This event is supported by the WHO Collaborating Center for Governance, Accountability and Transparency for the Pharmaceutical Sector.

Seminar: WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Accountability and Transparency for the Pharmaceutical Sector and Health Law, Ethics & Policy Seminar Series: Access to Medicine – Benchmarking pharmaceutical companies in weak regulatory environments

When: 12:30 pm, February 2, 2017

Presenter: Luca Genovese, Researcher, Access to Medicines Foundation, Netherlands

Location: Falconer Hall (Solarium) – University of Toronto, 84 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON

Details: Hosted by: Dr. Jillian Kohler

T: (416) 946-8708

E: jillian.kohler@utoronto.ca

Symposium: Combating Corruption in Health Care and Pharmaceuticals

When: 9:30-4:30 pm, November 28, 2016

Presenter:

Sidney Wolfe, M.D., Co-founder of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group and long-time defender of patients’ rights. Adjunct Professor, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. LINK: https://www.citizen.org/about/sidney-m-wolfe-md
Joel Lexchin, M.D., Professor, School of Health Policy and Management, York University.
Kiymet Çaliyurt, Professor in the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Trakya University, Turkey.
James Crombie, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Université Sainte-Anne, Nova Scotia. Adjunct professor in the Dalhousie University Faculty of Health Professions.
Marc-André Gagnon, Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University. Visiting Professor at the Ottawa Center for Health Law, Policy and Ethics.
Fred Gifford, Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences, Michigan State University.
Jillian Kohler, Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, the Munk School of Global Affairs and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Accountability and Transparency in the Pharmaceutical Sector of the University of Toronto.
Paul D. Thacker, independent investigative journalist, based in Madrid, specializing in scientific, medical and environmental issues.