From future goals to concrete actions: communities of practice gather for the first time to discuss the next steps
During the successful opening event in October 2023, the communities of practice got to know each other and brainstormed on their first ideas. Bringing together organisations from different sectors together in these communities, Global Health Hub aims to enable innovation and knowledge exchange. To put these dynamics to work, each community gathered on the 27th of November to discuss the next steps. During these inspirational sessions, the communities of practice discussed their priorities. Furthermore, the first steps were taken toward the organisation's actions for an impactful global health strategy.
Survey to the common goal
Attended by 19 members, the community of practice for strengthening global health architecture and national health systems, voted on five priorities. These include the mapping of medical resources, the creation of standards for safe, sustainable, patient-centered, and inclusive digital health, opportunities for patient-centered healthcare financing, how to create an impact on international health organizations, and identifying community health needs. To transform these points into tangible actions, the community is considering organizing a survey to align all group members. Based on these results a common goal will be defined.
A focused timeline
The community of practice for the improvement of international pandemic preparedness and minimizing cross-border health threats, was guided by the seven co-leaders. During the session, each action point was paired with a solution. Global access to medicines and health products could be improved by investing in local production and the harmonization of regulations on registration. AMR and zoonotic diseases might be tackled with innovation and the promotion of diagnostics and equality assessments, and sharing data should contribute to pandemic preparedness. To keep this focus, the community agreed to put the actions on a timeline and to plan future meetings.
Mapping of involved stakeholders
During their first meetup, the community of practice active on the topic of climate change and its impact on public health and vice versa discussed the broadness of the objectives involved in planetary health. Furthermore, diverse knowledge and joint actions are necessary as climate change has different effects on global health in the Netherlands vs impacts in the global south. Therefore, group members agreed that work in multiple areas is required. For example: making health systems more resilient and sustainable. Additionally, actions concerning water and food need to be taken into account as well to retain or improve planetary health in the future. To get a clear overview of the priorities, the community will work on the mapping of the field based on the KNAW's Planetary Health report.
Next steps
We trust that everyone has had a promising start to the year and is eagerly anticipating the upcoming endeavors within the Communities of Practice. In January, the co-leaders of the three CoPs will convene to refine the goals and action plans for the year ahead. They will spearhead the organization of upcoming CoP meetings. This year promises to welcome a lot of new members to our Hub, and we extend a warm welcome to our latest partners: Enigma. IAVI, i+solutions, Lygature, RadboudMC and Rutgers! Anticipating the addition of more partners throughout 2024, we are especially excited to embrace collaborations with the global south. As we navigate the year, we look forward to our annual meeting, where we'll reflect on the impactful contributions of the CoPs. We are confident that 2024 will be marked by the meaningful involvement of many more partners!