Former Obama Health Advisor Dr Ezekiel J. Emanuel speaks at the inaugural Global Ethics Lecture 2023
Published: 12 Jan 2023
Dr Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, Co-Director of the Health Transformation Institute, speaking at the Inaugural Global Ethics Lecture 2023.
As the healthcare system evolves and more new diseases emerge, the ability to harness resources effectively for greater innovation in the medical sector is paramount. One such challenge to healthcare resource allocation is long COVID, a disease that remains understudied despite its urgency as a medical problem.
This renders the fair allocation of resources ever more important — with crucial ethical considerations among groups with different risk of disease and disadvantages.
Speaking at the inaugural Global Ethics Lecture organised by the Centre for Biomedical Ethics (CBmE) at NUS Medicine, Dr Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, Co-Director of the Health Transformation Institute, emphasised that there are fundamental principles in resource allocation.
This is CBmE’s first conference, held on 9 January 2023 at the NUS University Cultural Centre. Over 200 guests attended the conference, including senior government leaders as well as leaders from academic and healthcare institutions, healthcare professionals and students.
Titled, “What is the ‘Fair and Equitable’ Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources?”, Dr Emanuel’s talk centred on the way countries allocated medical resources such as vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. He drew on important ethical values and principles that countries should consider during the resource allocation process, elaborating on the resource situation in the context of malaria and cholera.
Dr Ezekiel J. Emanuel (left), and Professor Julian Savulescu, Director of the Centre for Biomedical Ethics (CBmE) (right), engaging at the Q&A session.
Guests engaging in conversation after the lecture.
Read the biography of Dr Ezekiel J. Emanuel and the summary report on the Global Ethics Lecture — What is the Fair and Equitable Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources? here.
