On the occasion of the merger of the three associations German Healthcare Export Group (GHE), German Healthcare Partnership (GHP) and German-Sino Healthcare Group (GSHCG) to form the GHA – German Health Alliance on January 1, 2020, the members of the new initiative of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) have held their first joint meeting in Berlin on 26 November 2019.

With the merger of the three associations to form the GHA, the votes are merged and the activities and expertise are bundled. The merger means mutual added value for all – then more than 100 – members of the three associations, which come from the private sector, NGOs and science. “We can put together larger packages and form alliances,” the four GHA board members Göhde, Singer, Fichtner and Dietel see unanimously.

“The mostly medium-sized medical technology manufacturers are product- and innovation-driven. The GHE helps them to enter foreign markets and not to make the same mistakes that may have happened to a fellow association member, e. g. establishment of a branch in the “wrong” country. Our network has been there for this for almost 30 years“, explains Erhard Fichtner, 2nd Chairman GHE, future Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board GHA, the benefits that all members of the GHA will have from 2020 through the expertise of the GHE.

The GHE also contributes its many years of experience in organising trade fairs with large joint stands at MEDICA and Arab Health. „At our first joint GHA appearance at MEDICA 2019, members from the GHP and GSHCG were also able to benefit from the strong, interactive network in the GHA Lounge“, explains Roland Göhde, Chief Executive Officer GHA.

“The multisectoral GHP brings to the new partnership its extensive activities and contacts from global health policy as well as the support of the BDI, Ronald Singer, Chairman GHE, in future another Chief Executive Officer GHA, looks forward positively to the future cooperation.

The GSHCG enriches the GHA with extraordinarily valuable political contacts in China “at the top” as well as cooperations, developments and projects in and with China. “Our activities can be further expanded through the merger with the simultaneous cooperation of our members,” says Professor Manfred Dietel, Chairman GSHCG, who will become Deputy Chairman of the GHA Executive Board.

The International Voice of German Health

“The GHE brings to the GHA the strength of “supporting SMEs in market entry and expansion” as well as a very high degree of exchange. The GHP, on the other hand, has focused strongly on the global health policy part, particularly in the area of strengthening the health system and international cooperation in health. We need both. In this respect, we complement each other synergetically and to a high degree in an increasingly political international health sector“, Göhde sums up.

Felix Esser, Head of the Industrial Health Management Department of the BDI, explained in detail the added value for the members through the connection to the BDI.

The motto of the conference was to get to know each other and to network. The three associations presented themselves to the members in detail for this purpose. It went from the roots of the three individual associations to the common, future orientation of the GHA with external presentation, website, member brochure, activities, fairs and events.

The large GHA evening reception on the occasion of the presentation of the German Global Health Award 2019 to the President of the World Health Summit and former Chairman of the Board of Charité Professor Detlev Ganten with a laudation by his successor Professor Karl Max Einhäupl enriched the event and rounded it off with political keynote speeches by high-ranking international guests and a parliamentary discussion on global health.

The summary – a very successful first common GHA conference with over 80 participants from the circle of members and approximately 300 visitors of the evening reception.