Julia Schmidt | Global Health Hub Germany
Only a few month after the successful kick-off of the Global Health Hub Germany at the beginning of this year, its Interim Steering Committee met for the first time on Wednesday 8th of May 2019.
Mr. Behnel, Head of Department Z (“Central Department, Europe and International Affairs”) of the Federal Ministry of Health, inaugurated the meeting and highlighted that the Global Health Hub Germany should serve a better networking of all stakeholder groups in the field of Global Health. “The Hub provides the structure to work more effectively on innovative solutions for Global Health across all actors. The aim is to engage in an open and fruitful dialogue to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals 3 (Health) and 17 (Partnerships),” continued Behnel.
The Interim Steering Committee will deal with issues of strategic planning and priority setting, alignment and further development of the Hub, as well as its communication. The Committee consists of 18 representatives with voting rights from international organizations, youth, the parliamentary space, foundations, think tanks, economy, science and civil society as well as the future leadership of the networking platform “Forschung für Globale Gesundheit” and the President of the World Health Summit (WHS). It also includes non-voting representatives of the German Government.
The 14 attending members welcomed the formation of the Global Health Hub Germany and the resulting interdisciplinary dialogue across the different sectors and stakeholder groups. New and innovative ideas developed in the Hub could significantly contribute to the achievement of Universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goal 3.
As part of the discussion on the work plan, the members pointed out that the Global Health Hub Germany could also increase the public’s understanding of issues relating to global health. In order to achieve this, a cross-sectoral approach is essential.
Overall, the first meeting of the Interim Steering Committee provided room for open discussions in a positive and constructive atmosphere. The members emphasized that they are looking forward to the cooperation.
In future, two co-chairs whose election will take place in May 2019 will head the Interim Steering Committee. Next year, the Hub members themselves will be able to decide on the composition of the Steering Committee. The decision on the election modalities will be part of the next Interim Steering Committee meeting at the end of this year. Furthermore, the members of the Interim Steering Committee will comment and adopt the statutes of the Global Health Hub Germany in the coming weeks. These will be uploaded on the Hub’s website www.globalhealthhub.de
The current members of the Interim Steering Committee at a glance:
International organizations/international experts:
- Prof. Dr. Dr. Ilona Kickbusch, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva
- Dr. Bernhard Schwartländer, Head of Cabinet, World Health Organization (WHO)
Youth
- Tanya Herfurth, Young Leaders for Health e.V.
- Abdullah Sönmez, Federal Representative of Medical Students in Germany e.V./ University of Bonn
Parliamentary space
- Heike Baehrens, German Bundestag (Member of Parliament)
- Prof. Dr. Andrew Ullmann, German Bundestag (Member of Parliament)
Foundations
- Anja Langenbucher, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Caroline Schmutte, Wellcome Trust
Think tanks
- Almut Möller, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
- Dr. Imme Scholz, The German Development Institute (DIE)
Economy
- Roland Göhde, German Healthcare Partnership (GHP)
- Felix Esser, Industrial Health Management BDI e.V.
Science
- Dr. Johanna Hanefeld, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
- Prof. Dr. Till Bärnighausen, Institute of Public Health (HIPH), University of Heidelberg
Civil society
- Bernd Pastors, German Medical Aid Organization action medeor e.V.
- Dr. Gisela Schneider, German Institute for Medical Mission (Difäm e.V.)