ReBUILD at the International Conference on Public Health (ICOPH) 2025
22 July 2025
This conference has taken place.
If you are attending the International Conference on Public Health (ICOPH) [opens new tab] in Bangkok on 7-9 August it would be great to see you. ReBUILD for Resilience has a few presentations at the conference.
Resilience in fragile health systems: Coping with COVID-19 in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Lebanon and Gaza
This presentation by Mariel Horncastle of Queen Margaret University, UK explores how health systems and communities across four fragile and crisis-affected settings – Liberia, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, and Gaza – coped with the COVID-19 pandemic. There is limited comparative analysis of how low- and middle-income countries, particularly those shaped by conflict, displacement, and previous health crises like Ebola, coped. Here we present evidence, documenting pandemic-related stressors and coping strategies, and emphasizing the dynamic between communities and health systems and the importance of contextualizing health system resilience within specific historical and political realities.
Understanding stakeholder engagement for disability inclusion in fragile and conflict settings using social network analysis: a peri-urban township in Myanmar
In Myanmar, the political crisis, natural disasters and COVID-19 have severely disrupted the health system. Vulnerable populations, including people with disabilities, are particularly affected and have greater difficulty accessing healthcare and social services. Research into the creation of a disability-inclusive health system is urgently needed. Informed by relational approaches to the health and social sciences, this presentation and the study on which it is based aim to identify key stakeholders using a social network analytic perspective, and then analyse their roles, perspectives, and interests in achieving a disability-inclusive, resilient health system for Myanmar. Presented by Aye Kyawt Paing of Burnet Institute Myanmar.
A liminal health system: exploring the resilience strategies of healthcare providers and communities along the Thailand-Myanmar border
This presentation examines the dynamic, cross-border health system along the Thailand-Myanmar border that is characterised by the fluid movement of patients, supplies, personnel and financing. We conceptualise this liminal health system, leveraging the ReBUILD for Resilience framework to explore the resilience strategies in the health system and to understand the methods employed by local communities to cope with shocks and stressors. This understanding contributes to identifying capabilities that can be leveraged and supported in times of prolonged crisis. Presented by Lydia DiStefano of Community Partners International.
More on this liminal health systems study here.