Professor Abdallah Daar, STIAS Fellow and Professor of Public Health Sciences of the University of Toronto has been invited by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, BAN Ki-moon, to serve on the newly established United Nations Scientific Advisory Board.
The central function of the Board is to provide advice on science, technology and innovation for sustainable development to the Secretary-General and to the executive heads of relevant United Nations organizations. Some of the key objectives will be to strengthen the linkage between science and policy, and to ensure that the latest scientific findings are reflected in high-level policy discussions within the United Nations system.
The Board will be comprised of internationally renowned scientists representing various fields of natural, social and human sciences.
Professor Daar is actively involved in the STIAS long-term research project Health in Transition and will be at STIAS in November when the first workshop of the project will take place (see Workshop on Mental Health challenges in South and Sub-Saharan Africa ).