SIDA’s Annual Conference 2024: Championing diaspora health workers, celebrating a decolonised approach to global health and getting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back on track

Scotland’s International Development Alliance (SIDA)’s Annual Conference is a fantastic forum centring joined-up, long-term thinking to achieve global justice. THET’s Hannah Samu was there to champion the Experts In Our Midst programme as a holistic and inclusive approach to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

#SIDAconf2024 was bursting with ideas and enthusiasm around achieving global justice. Myself and THET Chief Operating Officer Saf Rahbour were there to soak up the creative ideas on offer – and to highlight matters close to THET’s heart during the expert panel discussion – how can joined up and inclusive approaches impact long-term development.

THET was invited to highlight our Experts In Our Midst programme as an example of a decolonised, inclusive approach to global health. We were therefore thrilled to have Dr Goran Zangana, himself a diaspora health worker at NHS Lothian, represent us on the panel. He was joined by WaterAid’s Chitimbwa Chifunda, Denis Muwanguzi from Budondo Intercultural Centre/Suubi Health Centre, and Sam Ross from Link Education. Goran highlighted his involvement in welcoming international doctors to Scotland and applying lessons learned from colleagues in Kenya and Iraq to his management of COVID in NHS Lothian. This example of collaboration and applying learning from the Global South to the UK health system showed how THET endeavours to celebrate those who are walking the talk when it comes to decolonised, anti-racist, inclusive working.

Lord Jack McConnell also inspired us with his keynote speech, calling on the international development sector to consider what we can do to get the SDGs back on track after the pandemic and Ukraine war. His instructions were empowering, telling us to take back control of the SDG narrative by – 1: better communicating the scale, urgency and global interconnectivity of the problems we face in international development; 2: celebrating the achievements and successes of the SDGs so far, hereby directly contradicting the doom and gloom media narrative and showing that international investment and collaboration can be successful in tackling the world’s problems; and 3: generating public support for our work. He reminded us that as a sector we need to avoid complacency and disconnect from the public, by doing steps 1 and 2 well, we can motivate the public to support and advocate locally for causes that will have an impact globally.

The SIDA conference has reinvigorated me to think about how we at THET can partner with actors in Scotland to highlight the work of diaspora health workers – the #ExpertsInOurMidst and generate public support for our work at a local level. We are hopeful that conferences such as SIDA’s – and of course our own on 6 & 7 November – will help us spread the word about how our Health Partnerships model can strengthen health systems not just overseas but also in the UK, through authentic, equitable partnerships.