EGHRIN – European Global Health Research Network

About

Global Health concerns everyone. Keeping high quality and affordable healthcare and prevention strategies in the years to come represents a serious challenge. Global Health challenges thus need global solutions. This in turn requires global efforts in multidisciplinary research and innovation.

Now that the global order based on multilateral rules and values is under pressure, we need to join forces to achieve impact. As a global leader, the EU can boost international cooperation to create synergies in Global Health to maximize the impact of research and innovation.

The European Global Health Research Institutes Network (EGHRIN) has been therefore been established as a new network of leading research institutions in Europe to promote and advocate for Global Health research and innovation. EGHRIN aims to facilitate and strengthen equitable collaboration among the network’s institutes and their global partners on high quality research and provides knowledge insights that can inform improvements in health systems, including the development of cost-effective innovations for long-term sustainability of health care systems worldwide. In addition, EGHRIN is engaged beyond the health sector to advocate in favor of health through reaching out to other sectors and disciplines in full alignment with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework’s call of integration and indivisibility for sustainable development in any sector.

EGHRIN members see Global Health as research field focused on health of all human populations with a special focus on poverty-related health problems and equity in access to health care. EGHRIN members therefore work (i) in an interdisciplinary fashion, and (ii) pursue the transboundary and multi-sectorial nature of health problems and solutions to major global trends, such as climate change, the spread of anti-microbial resistance, globalization etc.) Global Health includes the promotion of health, as well as prevention and ultimately treatment and elimination of diseases.

To date, EGHRIN unites 20 European Global Health Institutes that wish to align their efforts. While each institute will keep its own research agenda, through EGHRIN we will foster collaboration with the aim to achieve more impact in the field of Global Health.

Our moonshot is that through innovative and multidisciplinary research and innovation we contribute to building better integrated health systems and thinking beyond the traditional confines of healthcare systems, e.g. put emphasis on diverse issues as social determinants of health, migration and security, climate change, and the business dynamics of health markets. By doing so, we aim to improve people’s health, thus helping people to live longer, healthier lives and reach the SDG 3 goal to “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.

More specifically, we will prioritize research that contributes to decrease the burden of disease as a result of an unhealthy lifestyle and unhealthy environment and decrease health disparities between the rich and poor population in the world. Our mission is to align the research activities from the institutes to improve Global Health by the generation of knowledge and through meaningful innovation and translation whenever we see potential for complementarity between the EHGRIN member institutes. We are committed to helping shape the pathway towards universal health care and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to health and specifically SDG 3.

EGHRIN envisions joint advocacy towards both the national institutions and governments and EU institution a through ongoing personal contacts with members of the European and Member State parliaments as well as key people in national ministries and at the EU in Brussels with Horizon Europe being the joint program of the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council. For the EU as well as national governments within the EU, this new network will be an opportunity to engage with experts in Global Health research in various academic fields and to be connected to a multi-country, transdisciplinary and intercontinental expert group which will devise Global Health research solutions from which the EU and national governments can benefit.

Our Priorities

Globally, 7000 neonatal deaths occur every day, most in the first week of life. Adolescence represents a critical period in health. Navigating it well sets the individual on a healthier life course, enabling full and productive contribution to society. Adolescents are exposed to considerable risks, including in sexual health, HIV, exposure to drugs, and increased occupational and environmental hazards.

1. Health throughout the life course

In 2015, 70% of global deaths were due to NCDs. Our research highlights the importance of this category of illness, closely related to aging societies everywhere. Moreover, our projects explicitly acknowledge the disproportionate NCD burden among lower income countries and populations linked to ageing, globalization of life-styles and rapid urbanization.

2. Non-communicable and rare diseases

Our work highlights the health challenges of a fast-changing global society. Our global health research projects have a strong emphasis on the health consequences of a changing world, including climate change, ageing populations, rapid urbanisation, globalization of life-styles, and the social, economic and political determinants of health. We seek to mitigate hazards that do not respect national boundaries and as such the risks of inaction and the benefits of innovation are shared by all.

3. Environment and Social Determinants

Infectious diseases remain a hugely important health issue globally, and the main cause of death. Prevention, preparedness, early detection, treatment, cure and elimination of most major diseases have still not been achieved. Our work addresses the “unfinished business” with respect to the control of infectious diseases.

4. Infectious Diseases

Safe and cost-effective health technologies and tools are needed to improve population health on a large scale. These are innovations developed for low-resource settings, which can eventually be contributing to the sustainability of health care systems. EGHRIN highlights the importance of research addressing the implications of commercialisation of health for patients, health care providers and health systems.

5. Tools, Technologies and Digital Solutions for Health and Care

Our research aims at harnessing the Global Public Health research expertise to study models and approaches for health and care in a wide variety of settings including those in low resource regions.

6. Health and Care Systems

EGHRIN unites 20 leading global health research groups throughout Europe

We join forces in EGHRIN to

Enhance awareness of global health aims and themes
Create excellence in Global Health research
Achieve impact on the EU’s Global Health research agenda
Translate key research findings into policy, implementation and practice
Become a prominent Global Health research body on a global scale

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health, ISGlobal, is the fruit of an innovative alliance between the "la Caixa" Foundation", academic institutions and government bodies to contribute to the efforts undertaken by the international community to address the challenges in global health.ISGlobal is a consolidated hub of excellence in research that has grown out of work first started in the world of health care by the Hospital Clínic and the Parc de Salut MAR and in the academic sphere by the University of Barcelona and Pompeu Fabra University. Its ultimate goal is to help close the gaps in health disparities between and within different regions of the world. https://www.isglobal.org/en/about-us

The Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD) is an international research and education institute that works to develop sustainable solutions to major health problems. AIGHD was initiated as a partnership between the Amsterdam University Medical Centers (AUMC), the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). AIGHD is a dynamic research and education institute that thrives on intense collaboration among experts from multiple disciplines including biomedicine, economics and social and behavioral sciences. With its interdisciplinary and translational approach, AIGHD addresses the most critical medical, social, economic and political challenges in global health and development that cut across national and political borders. www.aighd.org

The Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH) is one of the research institutes in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Heidelberg, Germany’s oldest university. Through its research, the institute aims to contribute to improving the health of some of the sickest and poorest populations worldwide, especially in Africa and Asia.Through its teaching, the institute aims to train the next generation of global health researchers and practitioners. The research projects at the institute focus on Identifying important disease risk factors and health care needs, Discovering new approaches to improving population health, Establishing novel models of providing health care https://www.klinikum.uni-heidelberg.de/HIGH.5358.0.html

The LMU Munich is actively strengthening its global health profile within the Faculty of Medicine through the CIHLMU Center for International Health and, increasingly, across different Faculties. The CIHLMU has been founded in 2009 as an interdisciplinary entity with the aim to empower health professionals in low- and middle-income countries through targeted teaching and training interventions. Two major drivers behind an increasing focus on global health at the LMU Munich are the Division of Infectious Diseases & Tropical Medicine with its focus on infectious diseases through basic, applied clinical and translational research as well as humanitarian aid in low- and middle-income countries; and the Pettenkofer School of Public Health with its broad public health approach and emphasis on determinants of health in countries around the globe. www.cih.lmu.de

The primary areas of research of the center in Lund are sexual and reproductive health and rights, maternal and child health, youth health, social capital, health policy, marginalized populations, mental health, violence, substance abuse, risk factors for chronic disease, and environmental stress. A key focus is to utilize accumulated knowledge to provide expertise for interventions in order to improve health and health systems. www.lunduniversity.lu.se

The George Institute for Global Health is a health and medical research institute with a mission is to improve the health of millions of people worldwide. Our researchers in Oxford are using large-scale datasets from across the world – big data – to better understand chronic disease patterns and to determine how to improve health services and identify cost-effective treatments in priority areas like women’s and children’s health, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. The George Institute has been affiliated with the University of Oxford since 2010, and has offices in China, India and Australia, where it was established in 1999. georgeinstitute.org.uk Twitter feed: @GeorgeInstUK

Julius Global Health is part of the University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands. Julius carries out research and educational activities in the field of reproductive & child health, cancer, diabetes & cardiovascular epidemiology, infectious diseases and environmental health. https://www.globalhealth.eu

Imperial College houses the Institute of Global Health Innovation, which conducts research in the following areas: Maternal and child health, Communications technology and health, Engineering and global health,Health and the environment, Infectious diseases, Neglected tropical disease, Chronic and non-communicable diseases, and Health management https://www.imperial.ac.uk/global-health-innovation/

ITM conducts, within a coherent academic triad, fundamental, translational and applied scientific research; delivers advanced education and training; and provides medical, scientific and societal expert services. ITM strives in the fulfilment of its mission for excellence, integrity, specificity and efficiency. It upholds human dignity and diversity, academic creativity and critical sense, solidarity and collaboration, and the well-being of its employees, students, patients and other clients. https://www.itg.be

The Institute for Global Health at UCL provides a unique, cross-disciplinary approach throughout their research and teaching activities. UCL works in the real world, collaborating with communities at all levels, and offering workable solutions for policy makers. The Institute for Global Health implements UCL’s Grand Challenge of Global Health, a cross disciplinary initiative to provide innovative, workable solutions to global health problems. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/igh

LUMC acts as a knowledge centre for topics in the field of public and global health with an impact on society, it has a directive function in the region and it acts as a centre for continuing education and further training for medical professionals. The collaboration between LUMC, Leiden University and the Leiden Bioscience Park creates unique possibilities for medical innovation in Leiden and the surrounding area. https://www.lumc.nl/

The University of Milan is a public, multidisciplinary teaching and research institution that offers 8 Faculties, 2 Schools, 136 study courses, 31 Doctoral Programmes and 63 Specialisation Schools. It houses the new Centre for Multidisciplinary Research in Health Science (MACH), that is an international landmark and leading centre for health research with a special, but not exclusive, interest in infectious diseases within a global and multidisciplinary perspective. Within MACH, global health is prioritised through a centre devoted to global health didactics and research.

The Institute of Global Health was founded in January 2014 as a transformation of the former Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine. This transformation was decided by the University of Geneva as a continuation of efforts to develop academic global health given the unique location of Geneva in the field. Geneva hosts most of the major actors of global health: the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, ICRC, GAVI, FIND, MSF and many other NGOs and foundations, with diplomatic permanent UN representations for more than 140 countries. The creation of the Institute of Global Health was inspired by a shared commitment to foster academic Global Health at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva. It is located in the facilities of Campus Biotech shared by the University of Geneva and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). https://www.unige.ch/medecine/isg/en

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Tropical_Medicine_T%C3%BCbingen/a>

https://www.med.tum.de/en/center-global-health-0

https://www.charite.de/en/service/press_reports/artikel/detail/neues_zentrum_fuer_globale_gesundheit_charite_global_health_gegruendet-1/

https://globalhealth.ku.dk/

https://www.lshtm.ac.uk//

https://www.swisstph.ch/en//

https://www.ed.ac.uk/global-health//

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