Meet Dame Sally Davies, Member of the Virchow Foundation for Global Health Council
Professor Dame Sally Davies is the Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance for the United Kingdom. Prior to this role, Dame Sally was the Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Medical Adviser to the UK government from March 2011 to September 2019, having held the post on an interim basis since June 2010. She shares her motivation for joining the Council and raising awareness for global health.
From your perspective, why is engagement and awareness raising for global health important?
We need the public to start driving action. On antimicrobial resistance (AMR), public engagement does not currently match the scale of the threat, and this will directly impact our ability to change behaviours and policies,. Everyone has a role – leadership can come from the top, as well as from grass-roots, so we need to work together.
How are you committed to engaging in global health topics within your current professional role and activities?
As UK Special Envoy on AMR, I engage bilaterally and multilaterally to raise awareness and drive action on AMR. In 2021, I advised the UK’s G7 Presidency to secure bold commitments on AMR, and I am now honoured to be a Member of the UN Global Leaders Group on AMR to accelerate action across all sectors. I co-lead the UK’s Investor Action on AMR initiative to galvanise the voices and influence of investors to support antibiotic sustainability. In my role as Master of Trinity College, I founded and launched The Trinity Challenge, a global initiative to use data to better respond to global health emergencies.
How do you hope to achieve greater awareness and engagement for global health in your new role at the Virchow Foundation for Global Health? How can the Virchow Prize for Global Health help to increase awareness?
I hope to collaborate with other members to share expertise and best practice, and inspire collaboration across sectors and countries on global health. Our collective network will hopefully be able to find new ways and new platforms of engaging; I also hope to inspire young people to follow in the footsteps of Virchow Prize winners.
Find out more on the Virchow Foundation for Global Health Council and its Members here: https://virchowprize.org/council/
