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GLOBAL HEALTH

Interim Steering Committee of the Global Health Hub Germany. GHA represented by Roland Göhde, Chairman of GHA. The Global Health Hub Germany has been inaugurated by Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn on February 19, 2019.

GHA Speaker Dr. Alois Dörlemann during handing over of position papers from five sectors to Mr. Ingo Behnel, Director General, Federal Ministry of Health. GHA had been invited by the German government to coordinate the position paper for the private sector.

Health is a fundamental human right

Almost 75 years ago, the constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO) from the year 1946 envisages “…the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right of every human being.” Within the past few years only – especially as consequence of the worldwide effective wake-up call caused by the Ebola outbreak started in West Africa in December 2013 with the following Ebola crisis reaching its peak in autumn 2014, then also reaching the United States, Spain and the UK, before the epidemic was declared ended beginning of 2016 – Global Health has been embodied in the international agenda and further moved up on it especially by the G7 and the G20.

UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals

The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by all United Nations Member States in September 2015, underline not only the significance and importance of “Good Health and Well-Being” forming SDG3 but, more than this, impressively underline that all other 16 SDGs are closely interconnected and interdependent with health. The logic conclusion of the SDGs can only be a systematic implementation of “Health in All Policies” – a goal which still waits to see being widely reached.

UHC & Health System Strengthening

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Health System Strengthening (HSS) have become key targets for the international community. Just recently, UHC has been dealt with as focus field of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2019. For reaching SDG3 and realizing UHC, HSS remains absolutely crucial. More than this, the engagement for making health systems more resilient also needs to be significantly expanded and intensified as the status of health infrastructure in one country can profoundly affect health security worldwide – a fact everything else than new but which Ebola obviously had again to call to mind.

The Role of GHA in Global Health

The GHA – German Health Alliance with its more than 100 member organisations is driven by a strong commitment to proactively contribute to Global Health, especially to Health System Strengthening. In this context, the multi-sectoral GHA constellation enables and facilitates to providing solutions which can truly make the difference in reaching above mentioned targets. GHA shares the responsibility which needs to be taken by all actors, stakeholders and sectors for complying with the stipulations which can be derived from the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Global Health is a topic of increased political priority and public interest. To further shape Germany’s international leadership in this area, the Federal Government is curently developing a new Global Health Strategy. In this context, the Federal Ministry of Health is working closely together with the other relevant Federal Ministries.

Since the German government’s official launching event on 6th June 2018, hosted by the Federal Ministry of Health, five sectors and stakeholder groups – civil society, think tanks, private sector, academia and youth – have been invited to participate in this process.

The German Healthcare Partnership (now: GHA – German Health Alliance) has been asked by the German government to coordinate a position paper on behalf of the private sector. Dr Alois Dörlemann, leading this effort for GHA, and the coordinators of the other four groups presented and handed over the position papers to the German government on 5th September 2018.

After interministerial discussions and the coordination on the priorities and objectives, the German Governmental Strategy on Global Health has been adopted on October 7, 2020.

Together with the coordinators of the other four sectors, Dr. Alois Dörlemann, on behalf of the GHA in a leading role in coordinating the contribution of industry, handed over the position papers to the Federal Government on 5 September 2018.

Press Release MoH
Position Paper Private Sector
Governmental Strategy

GHA INFORMATION & DIALOGUE PLATFORM

GHA’s efforts in the field of health crises, humanitarian crises and related health system strengthening have yielded tangible success on the national and international level following the lessons learned from the Ebola Crisis. GHA’s multi-sector approach is regarded as a currently unique, proactive push of the private healthcare sector towards significant improvements in communication, cooperation and coordination in multi-sectoral groups and single stakeholder groups. This increased understanding and openness between sectors, causing them to collaborate more closely and to envision innovative partnerships. The establishment and clear definition of the role of the private sector in the area of health and humanitarian crises is one of the GHA’s focus areas, highlighting the utmost importance of public-private collaboration.

Close Cooperation in Health

The GHA works with private companies, NGOs, government agencies and other national and international actors to coordinate responses to international healthcare incidents such as the Ebola crisis. GHA enables more efficient and targeted donations of medical goods and services from Germany. It is critical to build resilient health systems that can withstand unpredictable emergencies of unknown proportions. The GHA represents German companies across the healthcare value chain that collaborate in innovative partnerships in target countries to improve upon and build new health infrastructure.

Healthcare in Humanitarian Crises

Although pandemic preparedness and response is an important theme, the healthcare sector also plays a large role in responding to healthcare related aspects of other humanitarian crises, such as the cholera outbreak after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. GHA’s information sharing platform communicates lessons learned and best practices in this area.

Health System Strengthening

It is critical to build resilient health systems that can withstand unpredictable emergencies of unknown proportions. The GHA represents German companies across the healthcare value chain that collaborate in innovative partnerships in target countries to improve upon and build new health infrastructure.

Exemplary Activities and Accomplishments of GHA

Networking Sessions
We regularly host networking sessions between our member firms, the German Government, and NGOs.

Participation in Conferences
We have presented at or participated in over 11 conferences in the last two years, including speaking at the G20 Expert Conference “Taking Action against Health Crises” (7/8 December 2016) and participation as one of only two private actors at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016

Agenda-Setting
We work to influence the international political agenda, such as successfully advocating that the G20 Topic “Health Crises” would also be an important theme at the B20 Health Conference (18 May 2017).

Public Private Partnership Support
We support the creation of new public-private partnerships. For example, we led the development of a strategic alliance between GHA member firms working in medical technology and the BMZ in the context of the develoPPP program.

Networking Sessions

  • Initiation and implementation of discussions between our member firms and the BMZ
  • Hosted first networking session „Healthcare in Humanitarian Support“ in BDI for the #CSRHumanitär initiative (1 June 2016)
  • Hosted GHA/action medeor Information Day on cooperation with German healthcare sector (4 July 2016)

Participation in Conferences

  • Participant and speaker at the G20 Expert Conference “Taking Action against Health Crises” (7/8 December 2016)
  • Moderated a Health workshop for #CSRHumanitär on (17 December 2016)
  • Involvement in Lab of Tomorrow “Chronic Disease Prevention in Kenya” with the GIZ
  • Participation in KfW Conference – Development Finance Forum – Epidemics (2/3 November 2016)
  • Speaker at the VENRO-Healthcare Conference (28 September 2016)
  • Participation in the World Humanitarian Summit, Istanbul, May 2016 (one of only 2 private sector participants)
  • Participation in the UN Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (7-9 February 2017)
  • Co-Chair and Co-Host of workshops at the World Health Summit in 2015 and 2016
  • Co-initiator of the German African Healthcare Symposium, including an Ebola Lessons Learned panel
  • Panel speaker at the CSR Forum “Cooperation between NGOs and Companies during Humanitarian Crises”
  • Participation in the GIZ Info Day in September 2016

Agenda-Setting

  • Successfully advocated that the G20 Topic “Health Crises” would also be an important theme at the B20 Health Conference (18 May 2017)
  • Participated in the consultation process for the “Healthy Systems, Health Lives” roadmap
  • In the context of #CSRHumanitär, humanitarian and private sector actors identified Health as a primary theme
  • Participated in an exchange with World Economic Forum on the roll of the private sector in health crises

Public Private Partnership Support

  • Hosted the health workshop during the MAP launch on 24 November 2016 and moderated between NGOs and private actors to identify a topic for a MAP project with the GIZ and the Collective Leadership Institute
  • Led the development of a strategic alliance between GHA member organizations working in medical technology and the BMZ in the context of the develoPPP program
  • Initiated integration of GHA member organizations with the SEEG (Schnelleinsetzbaren Expertengruppe)
  • Initial cooperation with WFP Pandemic Supply Chain Initiative, including initial meeting with Dräger, 23 Januar 2017

Official Partnerships

  • GHA was named as the private sector partner for the special program “Health in Africa,” the ECOWAS Project GIZ (Kick-off early 2017)
  • GHA identified as a broker between German NGOs and businesses in the context of the #CSRHumanitär initiative

Delegation Trips

  • A delegation trip with our member companies within the scope of the ECOWAS Project GIZ (Planned)

Publications and Analysis

  • Conducted a survey of the private sector to identify hurdles associated with the Ebola crisis response
  • Creation of a player handbook guide to important international and national actors in the healthcare sector

Outreach to NGOs and Faith-Based Organisations

  • Integration of FBOs in connection to health topics at the 3rd German-African Healthcare Symposium, 12 October 2016
  • As a result of GHA/action medeor Information Day, supported the development of concrete new cooperation  partnership agreements between action medeor and GHA member organizations
  • DAHW, first NGO member of GHA

From Action Group on Ebola to GHA Information & Dialogue Platform “Health Crises & Health System Strengthening”

1st June 2016, #CSRHumanitär “Health in Humanitarian Assistance“

The German Healthcare Partnership (now: GHA – German Health Alliance”) supported and hosted the first #CSRhumanitär multi-sector meeting between German NGOs and the healthcare private sector to discuss means of collaboration during humanitarian crises.

17th January 2016, Business Dialogue 2nd #CSRHumanitär

Diana Peters, GHP Coordinator for Health Crises and Health System Resilience, was invited to moderate the Health Workshop at the 2nd #CSRhumanitär event in Berlin. In addition, a fruitful collaboration between the initiative and GHP has been developed. Read more about the results here…

16th December 2015, Platform “From Ebola towards Strengthening Health System Resilience”

The 2014 Ebola virus outbreak has demonstrated in a tragic way the failure of existing international mechanisms in managing health crises  The UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on the Global Response to Health Crises focuses on the strengthening of health systems, as they lay the foundation for the early detection and effective containment of epidemics, and for meeting communities’ essential and ongoing health needs. The German government supports this new international effort with “The Roadmap: Healthy Systems – Healthy Lives” and a special programme on “Health in Africa”. In order to support the joint efforts, the newly established GHP platform “From Ebola towards Strengthening Health System Resilience” embeds its work in the international public health approach and the Sustainable Development Goal 3 on health to strengthen health system resilience, implementing the lessons learned from Ebola with the following focus areas:

  • Elaboration of a systematic collaboration between the public and private sector in health emergencies such as Ebola
  • Close collaboration between the German private healthcare sector with newly established national as well as international public-sector programmes focused on health system resilience

15th July 2015, Diana Peters: New GHP Coordinator for Health Crises & Health System Resilience

GHP has employed a new team member, Diana Peters. Starting with the example of the Ebola epidemic, Diana Peters will deal with patterns of epidemics, structures of humanitarian help, and needs of severely affected health systems. Ms Peters will be in charge of all related issues. The aim is to improve preparedness of health systems, understand and limit the drivers of epidemic outbreaks, and apply knowledge of how to strengthen weak health systems before and after epidemic crises. The initial steps of the work include mapping, gathering, bundling and synchronising all activities, solutions and contributions of German players within the international response.

16th February 2015, 2nd Meeting of the Action Group against Ebola

On February 16th 2015, six months after the peak of the heavy crisis, the “Action Group on Ebola” met again for exchanging knowledge and ideas on the current situation and on steps to be taken in order to re-establish healthcare provision in the most affected countries and prevent new outbreaks of the epidemic. GHP now further fostered and extended the Ebola work by implementation of the “Coordination Office Epidemics” within the GHP team, financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.  As the African Ambassadors of the three most affected countries reported, cases have reduced drastically and countries are starting to go back to normal, the general tenor was positive. However, as cases are still fluctuating a lot and the population has not only been hit in terms of health, but also psychologically and socially as well as economically, the systems are still very fragile. There is no need to re-establish the treatment centres and expand the infrastructure further at this moment. Instead, the focus should be on the empowerment and capacity building of healthcare workers.

10th December 2014, Workshop “Together against Ebola” of the African Ambassadors, Egyptian Embassy Berlin

On December 10th 2014, the Workshop “Together against Ebola”, hosted by the African Ambassadors, was held at the Egyptian Embassy in Berlin. After the welcome note by the host, H.E. Ambassador Mohamed Abdelhamid Ibrahim Higazy, the opening by the Dean of the African Ambassador H.E. Jean-Claude Bouyobart and a keynote of the Ebola Special Representative of the Federal Government, H.E. Ambassador Walter Lindner, who reported on the current situation on the ground, discussions on ongoing activities, challenges and necessary next steps in the fight against the Ebola epidemic took place. In the panel “Perceptions, Social Implications and Corporate Responsibility”, Roland Göhde, GHP Chairman of the Board introduced the GHP, the “Action group against Ebola” and the systemic approach of the GHA to sustainably strengthen healthcare systems. At the closing of the event, a representative of the African Ambassadors read out the common final declaration of the African ambassadors, the German-African Business Association and the GHP, determining that future efforts and activities and appropriate follow-up events shall be carried out in cooperation.

20th October 2014, Special Session on Ebola at the World Health Summit

At the invitation of the World Health Summit and the Federal Foreign Office, Roland Göhde, GHP Chairman of the Board, participated at the Special Plenary Session on Ebola. The Federal Foreign Office declared that Ambassador Walter J. Lindner has been announced special envoy for the coordination against Ebola and presented an action plan consisting of three steps: 1) stop the transmission, 2) rebuild medical services and 3) prevent a new outbreak. All participants declared their possible ways to contribute, i.e. medical device, laboratory equipment, expertise or financial support. At the same time, regulatory issues being barriers to short-term aid were discussed.

30th September 2014, 1st Meeting of the Action Group against Ebola

At the peak of the Ebola epidemic in late summer 2014, the German Healthcare Partnership (GHP) has launched an action plan against Ebola on request of the Federal Foreign Office. In this context the “Action Group against Ebola” was jointly established by GHP and Afrika-Verein: At the 1st meeting, more than 30 players of the German healthcare sector met and discussed with ambassadors of the affected countries how to fight this deadly disease. A single point of contact was installed, where demand and supply could be matched and donations where tracked. The Ambassadors of Sierra-Leone, Liberia and Guinea made an urgent appeal to support the fight against Ebola with the biggest challenges being infrastructure and equipment, logistics and capacity of healthcare workers.

2nd German Global Health Award of GHA – German Health Alliance under Patronage of Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn

On 26th November 2019, the second German Global Health Award has been presented at the Evening Reception “Germany’s Role and Responsibility in Global Health” in Berlin with more than 400 registered participants. The event has been characterised by exchanging perspectives and ideas on Global Health with German and international actors and decision-makers from politics, business, NGOs, and international organisations as well as science & academia. This will include a moderated discussion of Members of the German Parliament.

This specifically included a moderated discussion with Members of the German Bundestag as well as keynotes from, among others, Gunilla Carlsson, Deputy Executive Director UNAIDS und Assistant-Secretary General United Nations, Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite, Member of the Portuguese Parliament, Founder & President of UNITE – Global Parliamentarian Network to End HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and Other Infectious Diseases, and State Secretary Dr. Thomas Steffen from the Federal Ministry of Health.

Professor Dr. Detlev Ganten ] Awardee German Global Health Award 2019
Awardee: Professor Dr Detlev Ganten

Professor Dr Detlev Ganten, Founder & President of World Health Summit and former Chairman of Charité has been granted the German Global Health Award 2019 under patronage of Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn, honoring outstanding engagement in the area of Global Health. The laudatory speech was given by Professor Dr Karl Max Einhäupl gehalten, former Chairman of the German Council of Science and Humanities.

With the German Global Health Award, initiated in 2016 by the German Healthcare Partnership (GHP), in 2010 jointly established by BDI – Federation of German Industry and German government and since July 2019 operating as GHA – German Health Alliance, personalities, organizations, associations, initiatives and enterprises are being honored for outstanding merits and great engagement in the area of Global Health.

1st German Global Health Award of GHA – German Health Alliance under Patronage of Federal Minister Brigitte Zypries

On 17 May 2017 the German Healthcare Partnership (GHP, since July 2019: GHA – German Health Alliance) presented the German Global Health Award for the first time. The award ceremony was under the patronage of the Federal Minister of Economics and Energy Brigitte Zypries and part of the event “Global Health – the International and the German Agenda” with more than 200 participants from 30 countries, which took place in the context of the B20 Health Conference, an integral part of the G20 process.

With the German Global Health Award, initiated in 2016, the GHA honours personalities, organisations, associations, initiatives and companies for outstanding merits and very special commitment in the field of Global Health. The German Global Health Award 2017 was presented in two categories by the German Healthcare Partnership (GHP), the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and BIO Deutschland, together with the patroness Federal Minister Brigitte Zypries and Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.

From right to left: Prof. Dr. Ilona Kickbusch (Director Global Health Programme, Graduate Institute Geneva), Michel Sidibé (Executive Director UNAIDS an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations) and Roland Göhde (Chairman of the Board, German Healthcare Partnership).

From right to left: Iris Plöger (BDI), Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Brigitte Zypries, Dr. Dieter Wenderlein (Gemeinschaft Sant’Egidio), Dirk Beils (MACH4), Dr. Viola Bronsema (BIO Deutschland) and Roland Göhde (German Healthcare Partnership)

Winner German Global Health Award 2017 – Category 1

The award for innovative products, services and partnerships developed by small- to mid-sized enterprises was granted to MACH4 Automatisierungstechnik GmbH for the Pharmacy of the Future.

The company’s project to establish a system of Pharmacy Dispensing Units provides an innovative solution to improve access to pharmaceuticals for chronically-ill patients in South Africa. South Africa has one of the highest rates of chronic illness in the world, such as high blood pressure or HIV, and yet has a low ratio of pharmacists to patients. The idea is to set up secure Pharmacy Dispensing Units in shopping centres or similar places, where chronically-ill patients can use a chip-card to automatically receive medication. The machines are outfitted with a cloud-based videochat option, so a patient could speak to a doctor or pharmacist even if the machine is located in a remote area. This project fully satisfies the criteria of innovation and relevance to the problems of the target country.

Winner German Global Health Award 2017 – Category 2

The award for innovative products, services and partnerships developed by larger companies, associations, or individuals as handed over to the  Gemeinschaft Sant’Egidio for the DREAM Programme.

The Gemeinschaft Sant’Egidio, which is the German branch of Community Sant’Egidio, carries out work in ten countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to strengthen health systems and support capacity building in the area of HIV/AIDS treatment. Gemeinschaft Sant’Egidio works with local governments to run more than 40 HIV/AIDS centres that offer treatment, group support and training. Their programme now aims to include more innovative technologies, such as Telemedicine, in order to strengthen the overall system. Since one of the goals of the programme is to improve access to HIV-tests and treatment, this creates an opportunity to introduce or expand the reach of German companies or NGOs offering diagnostics, medical infrastructure, or medications. This project fully meets the criteria of innovation, health system strengthening, tailoring to target country needs and improved access for German actors.

Brigitte Zypries, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, lauded the work of the winners of the German Global Health Award 2017: “Both projects demonstrate how the German healthcare sector drives innovation to attain the worthwhile goal of supporting global health at home and abroad. The recognition of such work is especially important in the context of the meeting of the Health Ministers of the G20 countries taking place in Berlin later this week.”

Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, addressed the B20 Community in a special welcome note preceding the Award Ceremony: “To be able to respond effectively to emerging epidemics and global health challenges such as anti-microbial resistance, we need effective partnerships, innovations and a truly multi-sectoral response. Through this award, the private sector is demonstrating its strong leadership and commitment to engage in global health in a new way.”

Dr Viola Bronsema, Secretary General of BIO Deutschland: “Germany’s industrial health sector and the biotechnology industry are strong and competitive. We support this award to put the spotlight on health innovation made in Germany and hope to encourage other entrepreneurs to follow the example of this year’s outstanding winners.”

Roland Göhde , Chairman of the Board, GHP: “With the German Global Health Award launched in this year of Germany’s G20 presidency, we would like to underline our strong private sector commitment towards multi- and inter-sectoral partnerships engaged in health system strengthening and Universal Health Coverage. Global Health needs to be an integral part of the G20 legacy, thus remaining and being further elaborated as one of the top priorities on the international agenda.”