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EUPHA-LAW Newsletter March 2026
Section News
EUPHA-Law Section Meeting, 16 February 2026
On 16 February, we held our first EUPHA Law and Public Health Section Meeting for 2026 where our new Steering Committee, general members and our EUPHANxt representative were present. We discussed possible webinar contributions to the European Public Health Week (4-8 May) as well as potential workshops and pre-conference courses our members plan to offer at the European Public Health Conference in Bilbao (10-13 November). It was great to see everyone contribute ideas and resources for future collaborations, share upcoming events, and discuss the next steps our section is going to focus on.
EUPHA-LAW Vice-Presidents
We are delighted to announce that Dr Andreea Badache and Dr Chiara Cadeddu will serve as EUPHA-LAW Vice-Presidents for 2026-2028.
EUPHA-LAW Section Meeting, week of 20 April (TBC)
Please complete the Doodle by 9 March. The agenda will include preparations for European Public Health Week and abstracts for the 18th European Public Health Conference.
Contributions to the next EUPHA-LAW Newsletter
Post your items by the 23rd of the month. The Newsletter will be moderated and sent out early in the following month. Include your LinkedIn account or email address so we can contact you if verification is needed.
Events
European Public Health Week, 4-8 May
Contact David Patterson if you would like to organise a webinar in collaboration with EUPHA-LAW.
World Health Assembly, 18-23 May, Geneva
EUPHA, the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) and others will host a side event on the climate crisis and public health. Further information in the April Newsletter.
18th World Congress on Public Health, 6-9 September, Cape Town
David Patterson and Farhang Tahzib will engage with colleagues to advance the public health role in responding to the climate crisis and protecting and promoting the rights to health and a healthy environment, in collaboration with the WFPHA Environmental Health Working Group. Contact David Patterson if you plan to attend the Congress and would like further information.
19th European Public Health Conference (EPHC), 10-13 November, Bilbao
The Conference offers excellent opportunities to learn from the latest research and practice, to network with experts and colleagues and to expand your professional horizons. Abstracts are invited for workshops and single presentations in all areas of public health research, practice, policy and education.
If your abstract is accepted and you present it at the Conference, it will be published in the Abstract Supplement of the European Journal of Public Health.
If you plan to submit an abstract for a workshop please consider co-hosting the workshop with relevant EUPHA sections. In this case please contact the president or vice-president of the relevant sections as soon as possible to assess interest. The deadline for both oral and workshop abstracts is 1 May.
EPHC Workshop: LGBT repression and public health in Africa: what is the responsibility of the public health community in Europe?
In 2023 the EUPHA and the World Federation of Public Health Associations denounced the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act on both public health and human rights grounds. The 16th European Public Health Conference in Dublin debated the issues in a workshop co-hosted by EUPHA Sexual and Gender Minority Health Section and EUPHA-LAW. Video testimony was provided by a Ugandan man who fled to Kenya to escape related persecution. He spoke about the impact of the legislation and related climate of hate on his health and on the health of his family, friends and community. Homophobia is a public health issue, for both perpetrators and victims.
In February 2026 the Senegalese Council of Ministers approved draft legislation to increase criminal sanctions for same-sex relations. The international legal position is clear. EUPHA-SGMH and EUPHA-LAW seek people attending the Conference who can speak first-hand about the repression of the LGBT community in African countries as a public health issue. Information: David Patterson
Courses
Coming up! The Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER) will deliver an online course on climate change, law, ethics and public health in late 2026, with funding from ECHO/EEA. Registration will open in June – details will be available in a subsequent Newsletter.
Publications
The Climate Science Reference they don’t want Judges to read
For the first time, the US Federal Judicial Center (FJC) commissioned a chapter on climate science for the manual they put out (with the NASEM) for judges, the Reference on Scientific Evidence (4th Edition). A month after it was published, it was removed after pressure from 27 Republican Attorneys General. You can nonetheless read it here.
From Cradle to Grave: The Health Toll of Fossil Fuels and the Imperative for a Just Transition
Most discussions about fossil fuels stop at the moment of combustion. Cradle to Grave takes a ground-breaking approach – mapping the entire fossil fuel lifecycle and exposing the health harms at every stage, from extraction to abandoned sites. Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA)
Proposal for a UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on Climate Change (working draft)
The annual UNFCCC CoPs have been stalled by the requirement for consensus, including on the phasing out of fossil fuels. In January 2026 the CoP30 President called for a complementary approach not constrained by consensus, operating at greater speed, focused on implementation. This working draft explores the potential contribution of an UNGASS on climate change. Comments on the draft are welcome.
Introduction to communities of practice
Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner, 2015
EUPHA-LAW is a ‘community of practice’ – The authors offer examples of activities from other domains which we can adapt for EUPHA-LAW:
Problem solving
“Can we work on this design and brainstorm some ideas; I’m stuck.”
Requests for information
“Where can I find the code to connect to the server?”
Seeking experience
“Has anyone dealt with a customer in this situation?”
Reusing assets
“I have a proposal for a local area network I wrote for a client last year. I can send it to you and you can easily tweak it for this new client.”
Coordination and synergy
“Can we combine our purchases of solvent to achieve bulk discounts?”
Building an argument
“How do people in other countries do this? Armed with this information it will be easier to convince my Ministry to make some changes.”
Growing confidence
“Before I do it, I’ll run it through my community first to see what they think.”
Discussing developments
“What do you think of the new CAD system? Does it really help?”
Documenting projects
“We have faced this problem five times now. Let us write it down once and for all.”
Visits
“Can we come and see your after-school program? We need to establish one in our city.”
Identifying gaps in competence
“Who knows what, and what are we missing? What other groups should we connect with?
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