About CAGH

The Canadian Association for Global Health (CAGH) is a member organization that convenes, partners and champions global health equity. Our mission is to connect, engage, and mobilize a strong global health community across Canada and internationally to support health equity.

We are conveners
CAGH brings diverse people together to enhance global health and equity. We share knowledge across the research-practice nexus and convene for global health training, networking, project work, advocacy and more.

We are partners
CAGH partners in developing and implementing global health initiatives. We collaborate with Canadian, international, and LMIC partners, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations, striving for a shared vision of global health equity.

We are champions
CAGH catalyzes and advocates for action and positive change in global health. We speak out, engage, and champion causes supporting global health equity.

About CCGH

The Canadian Conference on Global Health (CCGH) is Canada's premier annual event bringing together a vibrant community of global health professionals, policymakers, researchers, students, civil society leaders, and advocates from across Canada and around the world.

Each year, the conference provides a unique platform for dialogue, collaboration, and action on the most pressing health and equity issues of our time. Through plenary sessions, interactive workshops, oral and poster presentations, and networking opportunities, participants exchange innovative ideas, share cutting-edge research, and highlight best practices that advance health equity locally and globally.

The theme of CCGH 2026 is "Collectively reclaiming global health equity: Restoring commitment to action in a fragmented and uncertain world." The world stands at a critical juncture. Fragmented governance, declining funding, escalating polycrises, and growing attacks on science and human rights are eroding decades of progress toward global health equity. Yet, within this uncertainty lies an opportunity—not just to reimagine global health, but to act decisively. The time for rhetoric has passed. This is a moment for grounded, evidence-informed action. A moment to reclaim equity, together, guided by the foundational principle that health is a human right and that justice must inform every decision we make. In a world of shrinking resources and limited policy spaces, we need bold and equitable approaches that challenge the status quo and ensure no one is left behind.

Conference Focus Areas

• Addressing upstream determinants of health equity:Analyzing root causes and systemic barriers (Governance, power, financial stewardship for good governance, policies/politics, leadership)
• Equity in action: Health systems, resilient systems and communities, and centering marginalized voices (Context-driven solutions: Who leads, and where change happens)
• From evidence to impact: Practical approaches and tools for implementation and accountability (Translating knowledge into action: Bridging research to practice at all levels)

The CCGH is more than a meeting; it is a space to connect diverse voices and perspectives across disciplines and geographies, fostering stronger partnerships between academia, governments, NGOs, the private sector, Indigenous organizations, and communities. The program always reflects a deep commitment to equity, inclusivity, and meaningful engagement of students and early-career professionals alongside senior leaders.

Whether you join in person or virtually, CCGH offers an unparalleled opportunity to be part of shaping the future of global health and ensuring that equity, justice, and innovation remain at the heart of our collective efforts.

Target Audience

Project managers; International development professionals in health, social, and political sciences; Economists; Specialists in community-based rehabilitation; Teaching and Research staff in academic settings; Graduate students (master’s and doctoral levels); International Consultants; Directors of Global Health Organizations; Humanitarian Aid workers and Physicians.

Targeted Physicians and CANMED Roles

The Conference is particularly aimed at physicians from the fields of public health and preventive medicine, infectious diseases and microbiology, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency/intensive care (humanitarian medicine), and family medicine working in population health, without excluding other specialties. The CANMED roles can guide physicians’ actions with vulnerable populations and health systems worldwide. This conference offers the medical profession an opportunity to enrich the 7 CANMED roles, promoted by organizations dedicated to medical education, which translate in global health through the following guidelines:

• Medical Expert: Use scientific knowledge to assess the health status of a population, analyze community needs, and design prevention strategies, to provide care in resource-limited or humanitarian crisis contexts;

• Communicator: Convey concise health messages to the general Public, Media, and Authorities during health emergencies or prevention campaigns, while building trust despite cultural and language barriers, with empathy and active listening;

• Collaborator: Work in interdisciplinary teams with other health professionals, researchers, and local teams, in equitable partnership with community stakeholders, international and humanitarian organizations;

• Leader: Manage health programs, allocate resources efficiently—especially scarce ones in the field—and participate in the evolution and decision-making within Health Systems;

• Health Advocate: Act on the Social Determinants of Health, fight against global inequities, and defend the rights of marginalized populations through advocacy, while recommending supportive public policies for these issues;

• Scholar: Conduct scientific monitoring and share scientific knowledge bidirectionally, learning from local practices while teaching and supporting research adapted to local needs;

• Professional: Demonstrate commitment to society and respect universal medical ethics, acting with integrity and showing cultural humility in the realm of local realities.

 CCGH 2026 Steering Committee Members

Muriel Mac-Seing, Charity Oga-Omenka, Saad El-Din Hassan, Cameal Soverall, Sarah Stecko, Claudia Ximena Robayo Gonzalez, Lauren Smith, Bilkis Vissandjee, Janet Hatcher-Roberts, Bukola Salami, Karina Dubois-Nguyen, Shashika Bandara, Tina Lines, Éric Tchouaket, Justus Holben, Sanskruti Patel, Zahid Butt, Marie Dorey, Nihad Mahmalat, Amélia Dinh, Joelle Ducharme, Nitika Pant Pai, Hannah Neufeld, Kathryn Tiedje.

Last name, first name; Professional position; Specialty or expertise

• Mac-Seing, Muriel; Assistant Professor – U. de Montréal (ESPUM)
• Oga-Omenka, Charity; Assistant Professor - U. Waterloo
• El-Din Hassan, Saad; CAGH Board Chair
• Soverall, Cameal; Conference Manager - CCGH 2026
• Stecko, Sarah; Partnerships and Operations Director - CIDIS, U. de Sherbrooke
• Robayo Gonzalez, Claudia Ximena; Doctoral candidate – ESPUM – U. de Montréal
• Smith, Lauren; Doctoral Candidate – U. Toronto
• Vissandjee, Bilkis; Full Professor Nursing Faculty – U. de Montréal
• Hatcher-Roberts, Janet; Assistant Professor/researcher - SPHE - U. Ottawa
• Salami, Bukola; Full Professor, Canada Research Chair, Nursing Faculty – U. Calgary
• Dubois-Nguyen, Karina; International Health Unit CEO (USI) – U. Montréal
• Bandara, Shashika; Senior Lecturer U. Monash (Malaysia)
• Lines, Tina; Advocacy Expert in Public Policies – Network of NTD (Toronto)
• Tchouaket, Éric; Canada Research Chair, Professor – UQO (Gatineau)
• Holben, Justus; Student in Master in Public Health – ESPUM - U. Montréal
• Patel, Sanskruti; Medical student – U. Calgary
• Butt, Zahid; Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair - U. Waterloo
• Dorey, Marie; Researcher - CReSP and USI – U. Montréal
• Mahmalat, Nihad; Medical student and CAGH Board member – U. McGill
• Dinh, Amelia; Student - International Development Program – U. Dalhousie
• Ducharme, Joelle; Professional Doctoral Student (DrPH) – ESPUM - U. Montréal and GAVI Consultant (Geneva)
• Pant Pai, Nikita; Full Professor MD-PhD - U. McGill
• Neufeld, Hannah; Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair - U. Waterloo
• Tiedje, Kathryn; Epidemiologist, consultant and honorary researcher - U. Melbourne, Australia

 CCGH 2026 Scientific Committee Members

Nitika Pant Pai, Hannah Neufeld, Kathryn Tiedje, Joanna Marie Rivera, Krista Kruja, Margaret Mutumba, Ebenezer Kwesi Armah-Ansah, Melissa Ojemeni, Michèle Rietmann, Michelle Amri, Salim Sohani, Sarah Cooper, Marie-Catherine Gagnon-Dufresne, Jacques E. Girard, Robin Michaels, Charity Oga-Omenka, Muriel Mac-Seing, Cameal Soverall.

Last name, first name; Professional position; Specialty or expertise

• Pant Pai, Nikita; Professor MD-PhD - U. McGill; Public Health, Surgery
• Neufeld, Hannah; Associate Professor - U. Waterloo; Canada Research Chair, Indigenous Health
• Tiedje, Kathryn; Consultant and honorary researcher - U. Melbourne; Epidemiology - Public Health
• Rivera, Joanna Marie; Doctoral candidate – SPGH U. McGill; Epidemiology
• Kruja, Krista; Consultant/expert based in Toronto – Evidence Link; Decision making and Change
• Mutumba, Margaret; AIFBI Institute Head based in London, Ontario; Biomedical Innovations in Africa
• Kwesi Armah-Ansah, Ebenezer; Doctoral candidate - U. Waterloo; Global Health
• Ojemeni, Melissa; Deputy Head Nursing – Austin QC; Partner in Health, Intercultural Care
• Rietmann, Michèle; Project Manager - CIDIS U. Sherbrooke; International Public Health and Global Health
• Amri, Michelle; Assistant Professor - UBC; Global Health
• Sohani, Salim; Global Health and Research Director – Canadian Red Cross; MD Management in Humanitarian Aid and International Development
• Cooper, Sarah; Doctoral candidate – ESPUM U. de Montréal; Global Health
• Gagnon-Dufresne, Marie-Catherine; Doctoral candidate – ESPUM U. de Montréal; Global Health
• Girard, Jacques E.; Retired Professor of practice - U. Laval and International Consultant; Global Health
• Michaels, Robin; Senior Manager International programs – War Child Canada; Humanitarian Aid Canada
• Oga-Omenka, Charity; Assistant Professor - U. Waterloo; Tuberculosis and Infectious Diseases
• Mac-Seing, Muriel; Assistant Professor – U. de Montréal (ESPUM); Global Health
• Soverall, Cameal; Conference Manager CCGH 2026; Management