The Faculty of Public Health at Diponegoro University (FKM UNDIP) held the 5th International Conference on Public Health for Tropical and Coastal Development in 2024 (ICOPH-TCD 2024). The 5th ICOPH-TCD 2024 event was held online via the Zoom meeting platform from Tuesday, July 30, 2024, to Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
The opening of the ICOPH-TCD 2024 event was attended by the UNDIP Rector, the Dean of FKM UNDIP and his team, the Head of the UNDIP Reputation Office, and international conference participants. The event also invited speakers, including the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, represented by the Director of Environmental Health, Dr. Anas Maruf, MKM; Prof. Elena N. Naumova, Ph.D., from Tufts University; Prof. Hsiao-Yu Yang from National Taiwan University; Prof. Dr. Juliana binti Jalaludin from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Universiti Putra Malaysia; Prof. Hanifa Maher Denny, BSPH, MPH, Ph.D., from the Faculty of Public Health at Diponegoro University; Prof. Dra. R.A. Yayi Suryo Prabandari, M.Si., Ph.D., from Universitas Gadjah Mada; and Dr. Bernadette O’Hare from the School of Medicine at the University of St Andrews.
On this occasion, the UNDIP Rector, represented by the Head of the UNDIP Reputation Office, Prof. Dr. Ir. Hadiyanto, S.T., M.Sc., IPU., expressed gratitude for the Faculty of Public Health UNDIP for successfully organizing the 5th ICOPH-TCD international conference and hosting distinguished guests from various countries.
Furthermore, Prof. Hadiyanto hoped that this conference would inspire a better future for life and the environment. He also mentioned that this international conference could serve as a platform for disseminating evidence-based research findings and valuable scientific arguments, sharing best practices, and discussing current issues.
The Dean of the Faculty of Public Health UNDIP, Dr. Budiyono, S.KM., M.Kes., officially opened the event and warmly welcomed the participants of the international conference. “We need to adapt to changes in the health system and develop strategies to strengthen public health resilience in facing climate change,” he said.
This year, ICOPH-TCD 2024 carried the theme “Climate-Sensitive Health Risk on Coastal Living Environment.” The ICOPH-TCD 2024 event was attended by 235 participants, 208 of whom were oral presenters. The participants of ICOPH-TCD 2024 came from various countries, including Indonesia, the United States, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and India.
According to Dr. Budiyono, this international conference is an excellent opportunity to initiate collaboration in education, research, and innovation among various institutions. “After successfully organizing ICOPH-TCD in 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022 with more than 1,000 participants, we are proud to continue our international recognition by sharing the research and best practices of our colleagues worldwide,” said Dr. Budiyono.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, represented by the Director of Environmental Health, Dr. Anas Maruf, MKM., highlighted the complex multidimensional challenges posed by climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and malnutrition in its various forms. He emphasized that addressing these crises requires a truly integrated perspective and coordinated action based on a whole-government, whole-society, and One Health approach.
“It is important to prepare policies and strategies related to climate resilience, strengthen organizational and human resource capacity, conduct vulnerability and adaptation capacity assessments, reinforce early warning systems and responses, enhance health and climate research, and implement sustainable technology,” urged Dr. Anas Maruf.
On the first day, the international conference featured two discussion sessions with the themes “Climate Change on Disease Progression and Changes” and “Climate Change and Global Health.” On the second day, there were four discussion sessions covering “Climate Change and Malnutrition,” “Climate Change through the Lens of Health Behavior and Promotion,” “Climate Change and Workers’ Health,” and “Climate Change and Environmental Health.”
