Professor Julie Bines - Founder of Women in Global Health - Australia Chapter
For International Women’s Day 2025, Women in Global Health-Australia is presenting a series of profiles of three notable women in Australia who have made an impact in elevating women in the health and medical sphere nationally and across the region.
We interviewed Professor Julie Bines, who is a Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne, Group Leader for Enteric Diseases at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and Gastroeterologist at the Royal Children’s Hospital. Professor Julie founded the Women in Global Health - Australia in 2021.
Can you tell us about yourself? How did you get into public health/ global health?
When I studied medicine I had no idea that I would become involved in global child health. But it was after I travelled extensively in Asia and Africa that I appreciated the huge disparities in health, growth and “life” for children in low- and middle-income countries. Diseases, such as diarrhoea due to rotavirus infection was, and still is a major killer of infants and young children in many countries. When I returned to Melbourne to a residency position at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, I worked on the dedicated gastroenteritis ward. It was here in the 1970’s that Professors Ruth Bishop and Ian Holmes, and their team, discovered rotavirus as the major cause of severe dehydrating gastroenteritis in young children. Oral rehydration solutions were being trialled with the aim to avoid the problems associated with the need for intravenous fluid administration previously used to treat severely dehydrated infants. But the first rotavirus vaccine to be licensed in the U.S. was withdrawn soon after introduction due an unexpected complication of intussusception (bowel blockage). This was a major setback for rotavirus vaccines. As a Paediatric gastroenterologist I was given the opportunity to consult for WHO to understand more about intussusception and develop recommendations for safety surveillance for future rotavirus vaccines. Thankfully, in Australia, gastroenteritis wards are now a thing of the past, as a result of the dramatic impact of rotavirus vaccines in the routine immunisation program. However, almost 45 per cent of the world’s children do not receive a rotavirus vaccine and the vaccines available do not seem to protect as well in children in low- and middle-income countries compared to high-income countries such as in Australia. The novel neonatal rotavirus vaccine, RV3-BB, developed at MCRI by Professors Graeme Barnes and Ruth Bishop, showed promise in early clinical trials but the funding hurdles halted this program. I accepted the challenge to further develop RV3-BB. RV3-BB rotavirus vaccine has now been shown to protect from severe gastroenteritis in babies from birth in low- and middle- income countries and has the potential to make a major impact on global child deaths due to diarrhoea. But there is still lots of work to be done.
You founded the Australian Chapter for Women in Global Health - what led you to set it up?
My work in clinical trials and in consultation with WHO involved working closely with many inspiring healthcare women across a range of healthcare settings. Negotiating the day-to-day challenges in providing care to disadvantaged people in impoverished settings is amazing to witness. Yet these same healthcare workers, predominately women, were seldom at the table when we discussed key issues related to designing clinical trials or implementation strategies. When I asked my colleagues working in global health, I was surprised that many also felt that there were important voices missing at that table if we were to practically and effectively address inequities in healthcare. We formed a small but informal group at Melbourne Children’s Campus to share experiences of gender inequities in global health over lunch. A number shared the burden of learning from women colleagues living in disadvantaged settings, of the barriers that existed for career aspirations, and discrimination which they felt powerless to address. The aims and focus of Women in Global Health resonated with us, and we reached out to explore if we could establish and Australian Chapter. We soon realised that in the Asia-Pacific region there was limited (no) representation or engagement in WGH, despite our awareness of significant gender inequities in this region. We thought this was something we could help address and with a strong group of dedicated and committed women formed the WGH Australia Chapter.
Why do you think women/ gender matters when talking about global health?
Women are pivotal to the practical and effective delivery of healthcare in many global health settings, It just makes sense to listen to the voices of those that deliver healthcare when designing systems and policy that directly impact on the way they can do their best for their patients and community. In addition to the contribution women make to formal healthcare services, there is huge army of women who take on informal unpaid roles that provide critical healthcare and carer support for their family and community. These women are the glue that keep the system going, particularly in resource poor settings.
What gaps do you see with regards to gender and health?
A big gap is a genuine acknowledgement of the pivotal role women play in providing and supporting healthcare. Listening to their voices and capturing their experience and knowledge of what works or does not work in their context, or how to approach change if this is needed, is key to making progress in achieving better health outcomes. Reimbursement also needs to be fair and balanced.
What do you believe are the most pressing issues or priorities for women in global health right now?
With shrinking budgets and reduction in foreign aid there will be more pressure on funds flowing onto those already vulnerable and disadvantaged, including efforts to address gender inequities in global health.