News & Events
Colette Cunningham announced by WFPHA as Working Group Co-Chair!
The World Federation of Public Health Associations has announced that Colette Cunningham has joined the WFPHA as Co-Chair of the Public Health in Emergencies and Disasters Working Group. WFPHA is the only worldwide professional society representing and serving the broad field of public health internationally to make a difference in the health of the people in todays’ globalised world. It represents over 5 million public health professionals worldwide.
Sincere congratulations from the School of Public Health on this major achievement.
Colette is a lecturer in UCC's School of Public Health. She earned her MPH from University College Cork, where she also earned a B.A. in European Studies and a PG Certificate in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. She holds an M.A. in Public Policy & Management from the University of York and an M.A. in e-Learning Design and Development from Munster Technology University, Cork. Currently, Colette is completing her Ph.D.
Colette commented; “ I am delighted to take up this new role along with Dr Chadia Wannous, who has extensive experience of Emergency and Disaster Public Health. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the massive Turkish/Syrian earthquake, and the cyclone and floods in New Zealand, chairing this Working Group and working with others globally is timely, and I am looking forward to it.”
WFPHA said; “A warm welcome to Colette Cunningham for joining our family as Co-Chair of the Public Health in Emergencies and Disasters Working Group.
Colette is a multilingual, initiative-taking, and pragmatic global health professional with over 20 years’ experience in health-related work as a nurse, global health educator, complex humanitarian emergency worker, and international consultant (UN, EU, DFID, USAID, CDC) in both developing and developed world settings.
She is a born leader with a history of leadership and coordination in complex public health humanitarian crises and outbreaks, having coordinated healthcare post-earthquake in Haiti in 2010. More recently, Colette has led the Occupational Contact Tracing for First-line workers (regionally) in Ireland during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We look forward to working together towards our goals of protecting and promoting health and well-being worldwide.”