Welcome, everyone, to this 42nd Union World Conference on Lung Health, here in Lille. It’s a pleasure to see such a full hall today for this inaugural session. The theme of our conference this year is, as you all know, “Partnerships for scaling up and care”.
It is worth thinking about that word “Partnership” for a little. I think it can mean many different things to different people. According to Wikipedia, a partnership “is an arrangement where parties agree to co-operate to advance their mutual interests”. This is as good a definition as any that I have found.
Mutual Interests
It follows from this definition that partners need to be clear about what their mutual interests are, for a partnership to work. Everything flows from a common agreement about overarching goals; what Wikipedia defined as “mutual interests”. For the purposes of this conference, our mutual interest is in scaling-up and care.
“Scaling up what and for whom?” are probably just a few of the questions that immediately follow from this idea. From The Union’s perspective, the answer lies in The Union mission. We are collectively interested in scaling up innovation, expertise, solutions and support to address health challenges in low- and middle-income populations. Health challenges, mind you, not just TB, or just HIV, or just MDR-TB, or asthma, or pneumonia, or NCDs, but specifically the health challenges in low- and middle-income populations. This is a heavy responsibility. Luckily, The Union includes a large number of partners who share this responsibility and who share our overarching vision: “Health Solutions for the Poor”.
Partners
Partners in a partnership come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes partners are huge organisations, sometimes they are small organisations, and sometimes they are individuals. We may think that most power and influence in a partnership lies with the well-financed large organisations. This may be true, on the whole, but it is important not to underestimate the influence that individuals can have. I am sure we can all think of individuals who have made a huge difference in our collective efforts towards “Health Solutions for the Poor”.
Within the last few weeks we have learned of the sad passing of an individual whose influence on behalf of patients with HIV infection and TB was immense. Winstone Zulu died this month in Lusaka, Zambia, aged 47. Winstone experienced polio in childhood, was diagnosed with HIV in 1990 and became the first individual to publicly acknowledge his HIV status in Zambia. In 1997 he had TB and, in the years after that, he became one of the first, if not the first, TB patient to participate as a presenter in a Union World Conference. As we concentrate on partnership in the coming days, it is crucial that we reflect on the influence that Winstone’s activism had for our collective work. Let’s take a minute to stand in silence in Winstone’s memory.
Finally
Thank you, everyone. Let me round off, now, with some aspirations. I want to encourage you to engage in a deep and constructive debate on this issue of partnership. Don’t forget to tackle the nitty gritty of things that may need to be in place for a partnership to work, including agreement on levels of give-and-take, areas of responsibility, lines of authority and succession, and how success is evaluated and distributed. Please take time to enjoy yourselves as well.
Apart from the welcome reception immediately after this session, I will make only one plug for fun, and that is to extend an invitation to all of you to the President’s Concert on Saturday 29th October in the Chambre de Commerce et de L’Industrie. Our very own Managing Editor of The Union’s two journals: both the familiar International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (the grey journal) and the new journal called Public Health Action, Clare Pierard, is a superb soprano. Clare has kindly agreed to sing a selection of operatic excerpts in a concert that is open and free to all. You will be especially welcome if you care to pour some cash into our Union coffers!
Also, we hope that all Union members will come to the General Assembly this year on Sunday at 4 pm. The General Assembly is not only the closing ceremony for the conference, but also, this annual gathering of our Federation of members constitutes the ultimate decision-making body of The Union. For all its complexity and size, The Union hangs together around four values: Quality, Accountability, Independence and Solidarity. The General Assembly is an important mechanism that supports all four of these values, but particularly Accountability, Independence, and Solidarity.
We will be awarding The Union Medal during the General Assembly and also conferring Honorary Membership on members of The Union who have made a significant contribution to the overall work of the whole Federation.
Among those who will be receiving Honorary Membership is someone who had this to say in response to the news, in addition to being honoured and pleased:
“As a long standing member of The Union, I attend its annual conference and am always amazed by the remarkable individuals that make up its membership. Words are not easy to describe them: bold, inventive, sensitive, challenging, gentle, serious, stubborn when defending an important issue, fierce on behalf of those less fortunate, forward looking, imaginative. Indeed, I always come away from the annual conferences with the feeling that I have been in company of those who are intent on making a better world.”
Come to the General Assembly, for many reasons, but not least to find out who wrote those inspiring sentences.
Finally, I will be signing off as your President. This is the fourth, and final, time that I have had the privilege and honour of opening a Union World Conference. On Sunday, immediately after the General Assembly, I will step down, and the Board will elect a new President. Between now, and then, however, I will still be around, urging you not to lose sight of our vision: “Health Solutions for the Poor” and to enjoy the company of the remarkable individuals and organisations that make up the membership of The Union.