Victor Roy - Social Media Ambassador at the 2011 GBC Conference

Reposted from Victor's blog.

Along with a few of my peers, I’ll be covering the GBC’s 10th anniversary meeting in NYC! Here’s a quick preview of a few themes to watch out for, as leaders from government, non-profits, and business come together to examine their engagement in global health:

1) The shift towards a broader approach to health, away from a disease-specific focus: After a decade that saw the GBC catalyzed by the fight against HIV/AIDS, the 10th anniversary is set to mark a new mandate that will stretch beyond the traditional focus on infectious diseases – from what we’ve been told, there’ll be an exciting announcement from the GBC on the morning of June 2nd! You’ll just have to wait and see what it is 

2) The power of BRICS: A key Thursday session will focus on the opportunities and challenges offered via rising economies such as India and China. While much of the discussions in global health often focus on industrialized ‘donor’ nations, and developing ‘recipient’ nations, GBC is a site at which this paradigm can be easily challenged – major businesses from these countries will have the podium to do just this. How these emerging economies deal with the double-burden of disease within their own borders, and how they begin to use their new resources and influence beyond their boundaries are critical questions that will have a yet-untold impact on global health. See my friend Julia Fan Li‘s preview post on this session too!

3) Will Whoopi bring the money jokes? ‘Tis perhaps the most important question of all. Whoopi is set to emcee the awards Gala on Thursday night, and we’ll see how much laughter she can produce. George Soros will be in the house, so perhaps George and Whoopi can commiserate over Bill O’Reilly…We shall see what the night holds.

More to come later this week!