In 2003, the Whitehead School of Diplomacy launched the Global Health Initiative to examine global health issues from a foreign policy and national security perspective. This initiative led to the development of the Center for Global Health Studies, a think tank and resource center on issues relating to health, development, security, and foreign policy. Research: The Center’s research agenda focuses on global health governance, health security, health diplomacy and China’s public health. Dr. Huang is the author of Mortal Peril: Public Health in China and Its Security Implications, a monograph published by a think tank in Washington DC in 2003. My research on China’s SARS crisis was published by the National Academies Press and quoted in length by Foreign Affairs. In addition, he has published two book chapters (one on the security implications of pandemic flu and the other on SARS and global governance), in Innovation in Global Health Governance (Ashgate, 2009). His current research focuses on China’s health diplomacy and health governance. In October, 2008, Dr. Huang presented his research on China’s new health diplomacy at the Graduate Institute. He is working on a book project on China’s health governance (contract with Routledge). He is also going to present a paper on China’s bioviolence and biodefense at the 2009 Annual Meeting of International Studies Association. Training: In 2003, the Center developed the global health graduate specialization, the first academic concentration among U.S. professional schools of international affairs that explicitly addresses the foreign policy/security aspects of health issues. The specialization includes three cutting-edge courses: “Global health, bioterrorism, and international security”, “Contagion and conflict: Global impact of infectious disease”, and “Global health and international development”. The coursework transcends traditional models of inter-state conflict and seeks to develop new tools of analysis in assessing the nature of global health threats and mapping out effective responses to them. It covers topics of biological weapons, new and re-emerging diseases, demographic and epidemiological transitions, and sustainable development. In addition, independent study courses are offered with topics ranging from the impact of the SARS epidemic to the role of pharmaceutical industries in combating HIV/AIDS. Consultancy/Think Tank: Through research, publications, consultancy, and conferences, the Center is establishing its reputation as a think tank on issues of global health governance and security. In November 2004, the Center co-sponsored an international conference in Washington, DC with the Center for Strategic and International Studies on China’s HIV/AIDS demography. In April 2006, the Center hosted a national conference entitled, “Health and Governance: Where are the Linkages?”
In the spring of 2007, the Center launched Global Health Governance (www.ghgj.org), an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal that provides a platform for academics and practitioners to explore global health issues and their implications for governance and security. The Journal is particularly interested in addressing the political, economic, social, military and strategic aspects of global health issues.
Over the past years, the Center has been consulted on a pro-bono basis by the U.S. Senate Chiefs of Staff, US Congressional Staff, and General Accounting Office (GAO) on US-China cooperation in preparing for the next disease outbreak. During 2004-2005, the Center participated in the L-20 project sponsored by the Center of International Governance Innovation (CIGI), Canada. The Center has been frequently consulted by major media outlets on the political and foreign policy aspects of global health issues.
The newly established Centre on Global Health Security at Chatham House analyses international policies and mechanisms that underpin global health security, and recommends possible solutions to overcome any obstacles identified. The Centre is headed by Dr David Heymann, who has over 40 years’ experience in the field of public health and global health security. He was previously Assistant Director-General for Health Security and Environment at the World Health Organization, and is also currently the Chair of the Health Protection Agency, UK.
Current research and analysis
Personal health security
During the latter part of the 20th Century global mechanisms were established to provide funding to developing countries to purchase vaccines, medicines and other public health goods, and include The Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI); The Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria; and UNITAID. These mechanisms have attracted funding from development agencies. private foundations, and innovative taxation schemes, and have increased access to medicines and vaccines. Their sustainability, though, depends on the willingness and capacity of financial donors to regularly contribute large amounts of funding and/or continued taxation. At the same time, the quality of medicines and vaccines purchased on the open market is threatened by such phenomena as counterfeiting resulting in failure to cure infections, and increased speed of evolution of antimicrobial resistance. Current understanding of the prevalence of counterfeiting is limited, as is the understanding of underlying mechanisms that sustain illegal production and/ marketing This research area describes current policies and mechanisms that underpin these and other issues related to personal health security, and proposes means of overcoming problems identified.
Collective health security
With the advent of rapid and widespread electronic communication and the blogosphere, the nature of public health risk communication and its influence on national and international health policies has evolved and may, in particular, have had an impact on policies for collective health security such as international travel and quarantine. There are various international agreements and accords that structure international negotiations and collective action once health risks are identified, be they naturally occurring or deliberately caused. They range from the setting best practices and norms and standards in technical guidelines, to collective political will through resolutions, international regulations and treaties/conventions. Finally, the human/animal interface, where infectious agents in animals cross the species barrier to humans, has become increasingly important to health (and economic) security as demonstrated by outbreaks such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) Avian influenza (H5N1) and influenza A(H1N1). Other issues at the human/animal interface, such as antibiotic use in animals and its impact on antimicrobial resistance in humans are also important. Research in this area describes current international frameworks and policies that underpin collective health security; assesses their usefulness; and proposes policies and possible mechanisms that could potentially overcome any weaknesses identified.
Health security and its contribution to overall stability and national security
Reconstruction of health systems after natural disasters and in post-conflict situations contributes to health security, and is thought also to contribute to national stability and security. Reconstruction efforts are often hampered by lack of coordination and/or less than ideal engagement by countries involved, and opportunities to strengthen health security are lost. This area of research reviews past and contemporary efforts of health system reconstruction after natural disasters, civil disturbance and war; identifies opportunities that might potentially have contributed to stronger national political security and stability; and proposes alternative coordination and engagement mechanisms.
The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) is a Brazilian public institution dedicated to research and development, education and training, as well as the production of goods and services in the health field. It was created in 1900 and is part of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Its programs and projects are implemented in its 22 Scientific and Technological Institutes located both at its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro and in eleven other States throughout Brazil. Due to its very active technical cooperation in health with the most important Universities and Science and Technology Institutes, as well as Ministries of Health around the world, Fiocruz decided to create the FIOCRUZ Center for Global Health, supported by the Brazilian Government through the Ministries of Health and Foreign Relations.
In accordance with governmental cooperation policies, the country’s geographical surroundings and its cultural bonds, FIOCRUZ carries out special technical cooperation programs with the other eleven South-American countries within the Union of South American Nations (UNASUL); with Central America and Mexico; with the Amazon countries within the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT) (www.otca.org.br); and with the other seven Portuguese-speaking Countries in Africa, Asia and Europe within the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) (www.cplp.org).
Among its most recent initiatives regarding South-South cooperation are the creation of the Fiocruz Bureau in Africa (in Maputo, Mozambique, but registered with the African Union) and the support provided for the implementation of a state-run plant for the production of generic medication – including antiretroviral drugs – also in Mozambique. Fiocruz carries out four Master’s courses in African (Angola and Mozambique) and in South American countries (two in Argentina) and assists in the development of National Institutes of Health, Schools of Public Health and Technical Schools of Health in several countries of the mentioned regions. In 2008, the Foundation completed its first Specialization Course in Global Health and Health Diplomacy, which will be reissued annually. Fiocruz is also creating an Observatory for Policies and International Relations and is establishing a study program in health diplomacy and global health.
Moreover, the Foundation has been actively cooperating with scientific institutions in developed countries – such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States; the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), the Institut Pasteur, the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) and the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France; the International Development Research Center (IDRC) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in Canada; the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), among other international institutions, besides a few centers not designated by the World Health Organization as collaborating centers. With the Center for Global Health, through its more than ten years of experience in South-South cooperation, Fiocruz intends to play an active role in the international debate and action in health, development and health diplomacy and in collaborating with similar centers and institutes around the world. For more information (in Portuguese), please see http://www.castelo.fiocruz.br/Pres2006/aci/index.htm/
GIGA is the largest German research institute for area and comparative area studies and one of the largest European institutes in this field. It also includes a research focus on global studies (“Transformation in the Process of Globalization”). It is basically government-funded, with a substantial contribution of third-party funders to its research budget. The research group on Global Health Governance has been established in 2002 at the interface of a long-term research interest in the field of global governance and the increasing awareness of the importance of health in the evolving global society. Our research so far focussed on the institutional change in Global Health Governance; in a larger research project we have been analyzing the proliferation of actors and institutional arrangements basically in relation to the fight against HIV/AIDS. Work is linked to the focus of international relations theory on the transformation from a Westphalian system of international relations to a post-Westphalian of global politics and the concept of interfaces between different levels of political organization (local/national/global), different types of actors (state, non-state for-profit and not-for-profit) and different sectors in global governance (in particular: trade and health).
The results of our work and of two international conferences around that project were published in a number of articles and in three books:
Wolfgang Hein/ Lars Kohlmorgen (Hg.), Globalisation, Global Health Governance and National Health Politics in Developing Countries. An Exploration Into the Dynamics of Interfaces, Hamburg 2003
Wolfgang Hein/ Sonja Bartsch/ Lars Kohlmorgen (Hg.), Global Health Governance and the Fight Against HIV/AIDS, Basingstoke, Palgrave 2007
Kent Buse/ Wolfgang Hein/ Nick Drager (Hg.), Making Sense of Global Health Governance: A policy perspective, Basingstoke, Palgrave 2009
The research is proceeding on two different lines:
Deepening the analysis of post-Westphalian structures in global health governance, by focussing on topics like “Anarchy vs. coherence in global health governance” (Paris declaration and GHG) and norm-building processes in global health (Role of civil society in the implementation of human rights) and the role of specific actors in GHG (Can we consider transnationally operating philanthropic foundations as something like the “bankers of civil society”?).
Developing research cooperation with medical research institutes in Hamburg (basic focus: infectious diseases), in particular the Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine, a WHO Collaborating Centre in that field. Research cooperation is envisaged in the framework of a OECD programme “Addressing global challenges – new approaches and governance mechanisms for international science and technology cooperation” which has proposed infectious diseases as one key topic in this context. Research is planned on the linkages between networks of research on tropical diseases and networks of financing, looking at synergies as well as conflicts as a consequence of an increasing importance of private funding.
Training: So far, capacities of the GIGA research group to engage in training activities have been quite limited, basically to teaching in the political science curriculum at Hamburg University. Think tank/ impact on foreign policy: Being one of the few places in Germany where research on global health governance is done from a political science perspective, we are also trying to increase the awareness on the importance of global health in German politics, particularly by strengthening the discourse on health diplomacy. Members of the GIGA research group have been asked on several occasions for background information and papers in the field of foreign policy and development cooperation.
The Global Forum for Health Research is an independent, international organization committed to demonstrating the essential role of research and innovation for health and health equity, benefiting poor and marginalized populations.
Introduction
The vision of the Global Forum is a world in which the potential of research and innovation is fully utilized to address the health problems of the poor. Its core values include:
Health as a right
Equity as a principle
Research as an indispensable tool
The Global Forum has four objectives to enable research and innovation to improve the health of the poor:
1. Influencing priorities of research and innovation for health by engaging current and future high-level decision-makers
2. Increasing coherence among global players and the contribution of partnerships in research and innovation for health through brokerage and catalytic roles
3. Strengthening research and innovation in health and health equity to address the health problems of the poor by promoting focused efforts and increased resources for relevant research and innovation, directed to all sectors
4. Expanding the use of evidence in policy- and decision-making, through:
• encouraging systematic attention to research on the health problems of the poor by researchers and policy-makers; and
• widening the dissemination of research findings in ways that will enable their utilization, by stimulating improved communication between the producers and users of research for health
Ten Years of the Global Forum for Health Research
Instituted as an international foundation in 1998, the Global Forum serves as an authoritative and independent source of reliable data, practical tools and robust arguments regarding research and innovation for the health of the poor.
The Global Forum’s first decade of activities can be grouped in four areas. It has:
1. Provided an annual platform for gauging and promoting progress in reducing inequities in global health research funding: Moving to a different developing country each year, the Forum meetings generate debate and energize movements to understand and address the gaps in research for health, providing a unique opportunity to bring together stakeholders at all levels, across sectors, disciplines and countries, to focus on the solutions to problems.
2. Undertaken research, analysis and synthesis work: The Global Forum provides evidence and robust arguments for greater investments in neglected areas. It is the only organization that regularly tracks global resources for research for health. It is also known for its development and application of tools for priority-setting and equity analysis in health research and for work relating to research aspects of health and the MDGs, poverty, equity, product-development partnerships sexual and reproductive health, mental health, etc.
3. Played advocacy, brokerage and catalytic roles to influence priorities and resources: The Global Forum has developed a distinctive voice, presenting evidence-based arguments for ‘research for health’ and engaging with key constituencies such as policy-makers, development agencies, foundations, academic and research communities, civil society groups and the media.
4. Acted as a generator and incubator of networks and initiatives: These have focused on neglected areas of health research identified as critical gaps, including:
• Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research
• Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative
• Global Network for Research on Mental and Neurological Health
• Initiative for Cardiovascular Health Research in Developing Countries
• Initiative on Public-Private Partnerships for Health
• Road Traffic Injuries Research Network.
• Sexual Violence Research Initiative.
Strategic Priorities
Three strategic priorities provide the leading channels through which the overall mission and objectives are being pursued in the Strategy 2008-2014:
1. Linking resources with priorities for research for health
2. Increasing the role of research in supporting the development of effective and equitable health systems
3. Strengthening innovation for health in low-and middle-income countries
The Global Health Programme (GHP) at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies was established in spring 2008. It reflects a wider trend in both the practice and the analysis of global health which pays increasing attention to the links between health, foreign policy, trade and development. In its first year it has been a priority of the programme to make use of its key strategic advantages: the location of the programme in Geneva, the global health capital and the strong interest of the Swiss authorities in implementing a ‘health foreign policy’.
The Global Health Programme examines which characteristics, instruments and mechanisms define successful global health governance at the beginning of the 21st century. In particular, it engages in the following three key areas: Innovation in global health diplomacy and governance: The Global Health Programme is developing a standardised model of executive education in Global Health Diplomacy. Each year an executive summer course is held in Geneva and other partnerships have evolved to teach global health diplomacy around the world, for example in Brazil, Canada, China, India, Kenya, and the USA. The power shift in global health: The Global Health Programme provides a better understanding of the shifting power balance in global health – in particular the increasing influence of emerging economies and the powerful role played by new foundations, the private sector and non governmental organizations. It also pays particular attention to the role of Europe, and is one of the host institutions of the newly founded European Council on Global Health. It organizes High-Level Symposia on "Negotiating Health in the 21st Century". The role of Switzerland in global health governance: The GHP contributes to a stronger interface between Swiss academia, national and international organizations. In particular, it analyses and makes more visible the role of Switzerland in global health governance and produces a series of directories on global health activities in Switzerland, beginning with a Directory of Geneva Global Health Actors. The programme cooperates with the Geneva Health Forum and other Swiss organizations active in health and foreign policy.
The GHP also builds partnerships with a wide-range of different actors at international, regional and national levels. It cooperates closely with the World Health Organization. It is a founding member of the Consortium on Global Health Diplomacy and of a new publication series on global heath diplomacy with Scientific Publishers, Singapore. It engages with other projects and partners around the world and in Switzerland. Its activities are presently supported by a broad group of funders.
The Mexican National Institute of Public Health has formed a multi-disciplinary Programme in Global Health in collaboration with national and international institutions. Several main initiatives provide the foundation of this program. The Framework Program for Global Health Training in the Americas capitalizes on the rich research and teaching experience by INSP faculty in crucial areas on globalization and health, in collaboration with eight academic institutions from North, Central and South America and Europe (INSP’s “Framework for Global Health in the Americas” del INSP is financed by the Fogarty International Center y el National Cancer Institute of the US National Institutes of Health) .
The Mesoamerican Institute of Public Health seeks to strengthen cross-country and regional-level collaboration to address key health issues along the Mexico-Colombia corridor. Other efforts include close collaboration with the Mexican Secretary of the Exterior providing technical assistance in the development of health promotion strategies for Mexican immigrants, through the Mexican consulates in the US.
INSP’s masters and doctoral-level training in Global Health are being strengthened through the development of new courses and the development of research projects that address topics of global health in the Americas will be fostered. The outcome of our efforts will be a cadre of high calibre professionals trained to analyze, address and respond to the public health challenges and needs with the skill set to work at a regional level—particularly in the Americas—in the context of an increasingly globalized and interconnected world.
Underlying our efforts is the belief that only through an inter- and multi-disciplinary approach and cross-country collaboration can public global health issues be effectively approached and resolved.
Our efforts are focused on achieving the following specific aims:
Establish and grow a comprehensive, interdisciplinary Global Health training program at the INSP and in collaboration with eight institutions throughout the Americas and Europe.
ď€ Raise awareness and foster interdisciplinary teaching and research on Global Health issues at the INSP.
Meet the training needs of health professionals, leaders, and policy makers to facilitate regional and multinational collaboration on Global Health issues mainly in, but not limited to, North, Central and South America.
Develop multisectorial and international liaisons for technical collaborations in public health and foreign policy.
The Faculty of Public Health is an academic institute accredited by Thammasat University, the 2nd oldest public university in Thailand, internationally reputed for its academic strengths in political science, law, economics, liberal arts, social sciences and journalism.
Thammasat University’s strengths, coupled with insights into the importance of social determinants of the public’s health, led to the foundation of the Faculty of Public Health. The Faculty aims to function as an academic focal point in the region, by envisioning the future as “Partnering in building safe and healthy communities,” this with the mission to enhance the public’s health and safety by preparing professionals from diverse backgrounds in global health; breaking into new areas of research that lead to policy and practice that serve civil, professional, and academic communities; and contributing to think-tanks and consultancy on global health.
To effectively address critical problems in population health and safety, the 20th century public health paradigm must be transformed into a 21st century global health model of partnership created on principles of equality, transparency, mutual interest, and respect. The Thammasat Faculty of Public Health is breaking new ground in advocating disintegration of traditional sector walls to address issues impacting global health; develop collaborations across faculties to ensure curricula relevant to global public health challenges; and the provision of a public health course as an elective for all education programs within the university. The Thammasat Faculty of Public Health’s integrative approaches in education and research reflect this new model. Priorities of the Programme include developing a graduate curriculum that defines global health from a socio-political perspective with an emphasis on interregional capacity building applying a South-to-South approach.
The current research work on international themes includes health effects of air pollution and climate change, tobacco control, and migration. In addition, new areas of research contributing to health diplomacy, health care financing, and healthy policy and practice are under way.
In terms of academic service, the current work of the Programme includes consultancy assignments on: public health emergency management for the World Health Organization (SEARO-EMRO) and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (Asia-Pacific), on public health education for the South East Asian Public Health Education Institutes Network (SEAPHEIN), as well as on tobacco research and policy for the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
While enormous progress has taken place in aspects of biomedical science, the tools of public health and management, and social and political engagement, it is only when these elements have come together that the Programme has seen real and lasting strides in improving the health of the world’s poorest citizens. By using our collective experiences, resources, and expertise we can help change the fundamentals of global health. Not alone in narrow disciplines, but through partnerships that draw on differing perspectives, differing knowledge and experience, and differing priorities. Understanding how to mobilize such partnerships, how to make them most effective, and where to turn for experience empowers us at the global stage. The Thammasat program aims to produce the intellectual foundation supporting a 21st century model of global health.
The Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) at San Diego State University was founded in 1980 as part of the university's focus on health and human services. One of four nationally accredited schools of public health in California, the GSPH provides opportunities for education, research, and community involvement to improve the population's health. The GSPH enjoys special collaborative arrangements with the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, and other local, regional, and national health organizations. A Ph.D. in public health with a concentration in global health is offered by the joint faculties of the Graduate School of Public Health at San Diego State University, and the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
Global health relates to health issues and concerns that transcend national borders, class, race, ethnicity and culture, stresses the commonality of health issues and calls for a collective, partnership-based action to resolve these issues. Accordingly, emphasis is on preparing graduates with the fundamental knowledge, understanding, and specific skills necessary to become public health researchers and professional leaders in global health settings. Proximity to the U.S./Mexico border and expertise of many current faculty support and encourage a focus on infectious diseases (e.g., HIV, TB, STDs) and health of migrant populations, although students are expected to develop other areas of specialization within the Global Health concentration. These may be content areas, such as chronic/infectious disease surveillance and prevention, environmental health, health policy, and substance abuse or methodological areas such as quantitative, qualitative and spatial research methodologies that are applied to address health problems of global health significance.
In addition to didactic classes, students will be expected to meet specific cultural competencies relative to the overall field of global public health and to their dissertation area, and complete an international field practicum. Graduates of the program are competitive for a variety of research, teaching and service positions in academic institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and businesses with global health interests within and outside of the U.S. The co-directors of this program are: Thomas E. Novotny, MD MPH (San Diego State University), and Steffanie Strathdee PhD, University of California, San Diego.
The Institute of Population Health (IPH), University of Ottawa, was established in June 2000 to provide cutting-edge research and education in population health from a trans-disciplinary perspective. The Institute researchers are internationally recognized and the graduate programs of the Institute attract students from various disciplines.
The research and programs of study undertaken at the IPH address a number of key issues such as inequities; disparities and inequalities in access to and provision of health services and health service delivery; the effects of globalization; pandemic preparedness; man-made and naturally occurring environmental impacts; immigrant & refugee migration; as well as sex and gender-based health care provision and outcomes; the vulnerability and resilience of populations to health risk exposures; the role of interventions and their impacts; and policy development and implementation.
The work undertaken by the 28 principal scientists (representing disciplines in epidemiology, sociology, political science, psychology, nursing, medicine, international relations and law, to name only a few) and over 100 researchers at the IPH is aimed at addressing health issues to develop, promote and maintain good health, and to provide individuals, communities and societies the knowledge, wisdom and tools to make informed decisions.
Its location in the nation’s capital allows for regular collaboration and consultation with foreign policy advisors in health, trade and foreign affairs. Principal scientists at the IPH are also engaged with the several independent Canadian policy think-tanks, many of which are located in Ottawa; as well as with international governmental health development and research agencies (the Canadian International Development Agency, the International Development Research Centre, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the International Health Directorate of Canada) and non-governmental organizations (the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research, the Canadian Society for International Health and the Canadian Council for International Cooperation).
Research scientists at the IPH have research and training programs operating in dozens of countries worldwide, as well as formal and informal linkages with universities in all five inhabited continents.
Institute of Global Health, Beijing University, China(Dr. Lucy Chen)
The Institute for Global Health (IGH) is a global policy research, training, and consultancy institution jointly founded by Peking University and the Ministry of Health of the Peoples’ Republic of China. IGH examines strategic and anticipated global health issues and provides policy recommendations in the area of global collaborations for the Government of China. Vision: To establish IGH as an outstanding research and training base for global health leaders and academics in China; recognised worldwide for knowledge contribution in global health and policy, and for its capacity in training leaders and academics in global health in China and other developing countries.
Recent research activities:
Current situations in global health movement: Mr LIU Peilong
Review of WHO polices in China in the past 10 years: Dr LI Shichuo
Study of china’s support to African medical services and recommendations on future strategies: Dr Lucy Chen
Major Global health and foreign policy initiatives by country, and their implications to the government of China: Dr Lucy Chen
WHO Report of primary health care: Identification of gap of policy and action initiatives in China Dr Lucy Chen
The impact analyse of international health treaty: Prof LIU Yinliang
China’s financial contributions to overseas health aid: Prof. GUO Yan
Pilot study on new rural medical and public health services in China: Prof WU Ming
The PHFI concept was developed over two years under the leadership of Mr. Rajat Gupta (Former Managing Director of McKinsey & Company), the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and Prof. K. Srinath Reddy, Former Head of Department Cardiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The President is Prof. K. Srinath Reddy, a cardiologist and epidemiologist who brings in a broad range of public health experience at national and global levels. PHFI partners with the World Bank, World Health Organization, United Nations agencies, NGOs and over 30 international schools of Public Health from around the world.
The vision of the PHFI is to establish a network of new institutes of public health over the next 6-8 years, as well as to assist in the growth of existing public health training institutions/departments and facilitate their evolution into major institutes of public health. Further goals are to establish a strong research network of public health and allied institutions which would undertake policy and programme relevant research that will advance public health goals in prioritized areas, as well as engaging public health expertise to collectively undertake analytical work for generating policy recommendations related to public health action in sectors directly and indirectly impacting health. In order to strengthen public health education in India, PHFI also envisages establishing an independent accreditation body for degrees in public health which are awarded by training institutions across India.
One of the first major achievements of the PHFI is the establishment of the first three Indian Institutes of Public Health, all fully functional since 2008, along with multiple post graduate diploma programmes, short term trainings and research projects that have been initiated. Further IIHP establishments are foreseen for different regions all throughout India. The Indian Institutes of Public Health (IIHP) are envisioned as the hub of teaching, research, sharing knowledge and experiences in the evolving discourse of public health.
The current institutional base for academic work on global health diplomacy in Norway is best characterized as an emerging platform with three main ‘legs’: Section for International Health and Center for Development and the Environment at the University of Oslo, and the Fridtjof Nansen Institute. The relation between the three institutes is based on formalized research collaboration on global health governance and immunization, as part of the programme ‘Explaining differential immunization coverage’, but is in the process of expanding its lens to broader health issues. An aim which has grown from this collaboration is to build an institutional base for research, training and policy advice on global health diplomacy.
Section for International Health is based at the Faculty of Medicine. The Section is home to the Master of Philosophy Programme in International Community Health, established in 1998 and since then enrolling approximately 20 students each year. The programme concentrates on global health challenges. About two thirds of the students are recruited from outside Norway. The Masters programme received the University’s award for best learning environment in 2008. The Section is also responsible for the International Summer School in International Community Health: Access, Equity and Human Rights, and has approximately 20 PhD students. The Section is small with only three permanent teaching staff, but involves teaching and supervising staff from other parts of the University. For more information see http://www.med.uio.no/iasam/inthel/english/
Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI) is an independent foundation engaged in research on international environmental, energy and resource management politics. Within this framework, the institute’s research is mainly grouped around six focal points: Global governance and sustainable development, marine affairs and law of the sea, biodiversity and biosafety, polar and Russian politics, European energy and environmental politics and Chinese energy and environmental politics. The main discipline is political science. FNI currently has a staff of around 35. FNI activities include academic studies, contract research and policy advice. FNI collaborates extensively with other research institutions and individual researchers, in Norway and abroad. More recently, FNI has also become engaged in research on international health policy. Work has been done on the significance of leadership in the WHO, Norwegian health assistance to Russia and now participation in the project on ‘Explaining differential immunization coverage’. FNI intends to initiate more research on health as a foreign policy issue. For more information, see http://www.fni.no/
Center for Development and the Environment (SUM) is an inter-faculty centre focusing on interdisciplinary research, and a driving force in network activities and the co-ordination of research collaboration across faculties within the University of Oslo, as well as with external participants. Since 2006, SUM has included global health as a research theme, as home of the research programme described initially, which links global governance, national policy and community challenges related to child immunization. The project is linked to SUMs research area Global and Regional Governance for sustainable development, which develops conceptual frameworks for studying policy processes, governance and negotiations between states, multilateral organizations, private companies and other non state organizations in the multilateral system, and the research theme group Poverty and Development (PAD) that addresses the complexity and diversity of relationships between global and local processes. SUM has formal status as a research school at the University, emphasizing policy-oriented research. For more information, see http://www.sum.uio.no/
The Center is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Department of Political Science at the University of Oslo on plans for an initial high level and open seminar to increase visibility of global health diplomacy. The first objective is to initiate research on global health diplomacy and health as part of Norwegian foreign policy. A second objective is to recruit students from political science and international relations to participate in current and future research activities. A third objective is to mainstream research and training on health diplomacy into the areas of political science and international relations at the University. The Center also considers the development of a think tank function, and professional training in health diplomacy as possible longer term objectives.
