Back to Normal? Social Justice and DOHaD in the COVID Era

The most disadvantaged in our society have been most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and they bear the greatest health, social, and economic burden. This is especially true of women and children. This health crisis has highlighted and exacerbated underlying gender, ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities within our societies.

The current situation emphasises how social justice is fundamental for greater health equity and for improving social resilience to current and future global health threats. Insights from the field of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) show how early life conditions affect longer-term health risks and can perpetuate health inequalities across generations. This indicates an urgent need to channel resources towards maternal, neonatal, and child health (MNCH) as part of COVID-19 recovery policies.

In this webinar we will focus on social justice arguments and possible ways to address health and social inequalities exposed by COVID-19. In particular, we seek to put critical social science analyses into conversation with DOHaD research.

COVID-19 has maintained its global foothold, disabling everyone from returning to normal. Join us as we explore together the question of what the new normal should look like within a framework of health and social justice.

Speakers include Martha Kenney (San Francisco State University), Tessa Roseboom (University of Amsterdam), Sarah Richardson (Harvard University), Shane Norris (University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg), and Clarissa Prazeres da Costa (Technical University of Munich).

We look forward to seeing you!

Mark Hanson (University of Southampton), Chandni Jacob (University of Southampton), Ruth Müller (Technical University of Munich) and Michael Penkler (Technical University of Munich)