Episode Description
In today's episode, I’m joined by Dr. Kemel Ghotme, a Colombian paediatric neurosurgeon who led the first neurosurgery-led resolution in the history of the World Health Organisation, a global mandate to fortify staple foods with micronutrients to prevent neural tube defects and other birth conditions.
I spoke with Kemel in Geneva, where we were attending the third World Health Assembly since the resolution was unanimously adopted in May 2023.
You'll hear why patients living with spina bifida chose to advocate for prevention over treatment, how Colombia convinced 35 countries to unanimously adopt a global health resolution in record time, and why a six-dollar intervention is projected to prevent 200,000 birth defects a year.
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