Global: Call for Abstracts: 8th International Conference on Urban Health (ICUH 2009)

Call for Abstracts: 8th International Conference on Urban Health (ICUH 2009)

The 8th International Conference on Urban Health (ICUH) will take place between October 18-23, 2009 in Nairobi, Kenya. It is being organized by the International Society for Urban Health (ISUH) in partnership with the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) and the Government of the Republic of Kenya, through the Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development. This will be the first time the Conference is held out of North America and Europe. Previous conferences took place in Toronto (2002), New York (2003), Boston (2004), Toronto (2005), Amsterdam (2006), Baltimore (2007), and Vancouver (2008).

As the world urbanizes, public health issues need to be viewed through the urban lens. From the population perspective, migration and natural growth without matching resources has produced unprecedented formation of informal settlements characterized by poor physical infrastructure for the provision of basic services such as water, sanitation, housing, energy, and transportation; and high levels of morbidity and mortality. Because of a lack of access to quality health services, reproductive health and child health are compromised; the urban health systems have multiple issues that need to be addressed including organization of service delivery, increasing demand and supply, financing, and legal and regulatory barriers; and varying levels of food security and food availability often lead to malnutrition or obesity, depending on context. Climate change poses another public health threat and cities are particularly vulnerable. Addressing these and other issues requires innovations in governance and partnerships for healthy and resilient cities. The 2009 International Conference on Urban Health (ICUH) will bring together the leaders of urban health research, practice, side by side with community voices to frame these issues, provide clear insight, and offer direction and best practices toward healthy urbanization.

The annual ICUH meetings provide an international forum for knowledge exchange among urban health stakeholders. They address issues pertaining to urban health, with emphasis on interventions that help to alleviate barriers to urban health care and to promote strategies and policies that enhance the health of urban populations. The ultimate goal of the ICUH is to mobilize and energize like-minded professionals addressing the effects of urbanization and urban environments on the health of urban populations.

For themes please follow link: http://www.icuh2009.org/Documents/call%20for%20abstract%20brochure%20fnl.pdf

The submission documents will consist of 1) a short abstract of no more than 300 words; and 2) an extended abstracts of 2-4 pages maximum (font size of 10/11 and line spacing of 1.5). Abstracts can be submitted in English or French. Authors may submit an unlimited number of abstracts; all abstracts must be submitted online at www.icuh2009.org . Specific submission instructions are detailed on the website. Abstracts will be treated with confidentiality. No information about an abstract under consideration will be disclosed to anyone except as part of the normal review process under the supervision of the Scientific Committee. The deadline for submission of Abstracts is May 30th 2009.