About Health Action International (HAI)
Source: Vision, Mission & Impact | HAI
Health Action International (HAI) is a non-profit medicines policy organisation, headquartered in Amsterdam, that works globally to advance equitable access to essential medicines and promote their rational use through research, policy analysis and advocacy.
Mission & vision: HAI’s vision is that all people can realise the human right to the highest attainable standard of health, which requires equitable access to affordable, quality-assured medicines and healthcare. To achieve this, HAI conducts evidence-based research and engages stakeholders from patient level up to governments, using its “Official Relations” status with WHO, to drive lasting changes in government and industry policies rather than temporary, project-based fixes.
Main focus areas:
Source: What we do | HAI
- Access to insulin & diabetes care
- Prices, availability and affordability of essential medicines
- Access to medicines in Europe
- Snakebite treatment and prevention
- Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)
- Health-centric governance of AI in medicines and mental healthcare
- Climate change as a health threat
Collaborations with GHH-partners
- Wemos: Co-authoring reports on pharmaceutical transparency and implementation of World Health Assembly resolution 72.8, including the 2025 report Pharmaceutical transparency: from resolution to reality. And long-term collaboration on access-to-medicines advocacy in the Netherlands and EU. (Source: Wemos Year Overview 2023)
- Aidsfonds, Amref Health Africa, Cordaid, Dokters van de wereld, KIT, Kncvtbc, NVTG, PharmAccess, PSI, Rutgers and Wemos: Together in Dutch Global Health Alliance, a multi-stakeholder platform for global health and SRHR advocacy.
- Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM): Sub-contractor in the Enabling Access to Medical Innovations for all project led by Wemos, with HAI as one of the four consortium partners.
- Knowledge Ecology International (KEI): also a consortium partner in the Enabling Access to Medical Innovations for all project mentioned above.
- Access to Medicine Foundation: HAI invited the Foundation to participate in the ACCISS Study Multi-stakeholder Meeting on access to insulin in December 2023, to share insights on expanding access to insulin and diabetes care.
Overview of characteristics
Active in Countries:
- Global / multi-country
- Development and roll-out of the WHO/HAI medicines price, availability and affordability survey methodology, used in at least 54 low- and middle-income countries. (Source: ScienceDirect)
- Official-relations advocacy at WHO (WHA, Executive Board) on UHC, pandemic agreement, AMR, climate & health, access to medical tools. (Source: HAI)
- Support to multi-stakeholder Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) councils in Ghana, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Peru, the Philippines, Uganda and ambia. (Sours: HAI)
- Europe / EU (including the Netherlands)
- Policy research and advocacy on access to medicines in Europe, pharmaceutical transparency, TRIPS flexibilities, medicines shortages and responsible pharmaceutical promotion, mainly at EU institutions and national governments. (Source: Access to Medicines in Europe - Health Action International)
- Joining the Dutch climate march “Health Block” and issuing statements on climate and health. (Source: Health for all requires a healthy planet - Health Action International)
- Africa – Great Lakes Region (Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia)
- SHARP project (Solutions for Supporting Healthy Adolescents and Rights Protection).(Source: Advancing Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health - Health Action International)
CoP (community of practice):
- CoP1: Strengthening health Systems
- CoP2: Pandemic Preparedness (Co-lead)
- CoP3: Climate change & Health
Themes and subthemes within CoP
Theme within CoP1:
Strengthening equitable access to medicines and health systems.
(Source: Access to Medicines - Health Action International)
Subthemes within CoP1:
- Access to medicines and affordability of essential health commodities (Insulin Access and Affordability, Prices, Availability & Affordability)
- Rational use of medicines and medicines policy, including transparency and governance (Vision, Mission & Impact)
- Use of data, digital tools and AI in supporting medicines access and health-systems decision-making (Health-Centric Approach to AI)
- Health systems resilience through better regulatory systems, supply chains and policy frameworks
- Increase demand and supply of crucial sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and commodities (Advancing Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health)
Theme within CoP2:
Improve the ability of the international community to respond to future pandemics in an effective, fair and equitable way. (Sources: Statement on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, Statement to EB150: Pandemic Preparedness and Response)
Subthemes within CoP2:
- Equity in access to life-saving health technologies (e.g., medicines, diagnostics, vaccines)
- Technology transfer and sharing of know-how & data for global benefit
- Transparent and accountable global governance/instrumentation for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response
Theme within COP3:
Addressing the intersection of climate change, health systems sustainability and access to medicines.
Sources: Climate and health are inextricably linked, Statement to WHA77 - Climate change and health, Climate Change and Health - WHA78 Constituency Statement, Statement to EB156 - Climate change and health
Subthemes within CoP3:
- Reducing health harms from climate-driven exposures (e.g., heat, air pollution, flooding, drought)
- Ensuring health systems resilience and integration of health into climate policy (including decarbonisation of health systems, integration of health concerns in climate mitigation/adaptation)
- Climate justice and equity – ensuring that states and international bodies prioritise the health of those least responsible for climate change, including LMICs and marginalized groups
- Strong governance, investment and accountability for climate & health (including transparent monitoring, cost-estimates for climate-health measures, protection from vested interests)
- Cross-sector collaboration between climate and health actors
Organization type:
NGO
Available resources
- Knowledge & expertise:
- HAI is co-developer of the WHO/HAI methodology for measuring medicine prices, availability and affordability, used globally to inform national policy.
- Deep evidence base on global insulin markets, pricing, production and access barriers.
- Multi-country experience researching access, affordability and stock-outs of SRHR commodities in East & Southern Africa.
- Networks:
- Active in national and global multi-stakeholder platforms such as MeTA (Medicines Transparency Alliance) and the Dutch Global Health Alliance.
- Member of the Unitaid-funded consortium Enabling Access to Medical Innovations for All.
- Influence / Advocacy Capacity:
- Influences EU and WHO policy debates on pricing, shortages, transparency and equitable access.
- ACCISS Study is globally recognised and regularly informs WHO, governments and NGOs.
- Financing and fundraising ability
- Manages multi-country EU and Unitaid grants (e.g., SHARP SRHR programme; Access to Medical Innovations consortium).
- Coordination capability:
- Experience coordinating meetings bringing governments, companies, NGOs and experts together (e.g., insulin access stakeholder meetings under ACCISS).
- Leads or co-leads multi-country projects (SRHR Great Lakes Region, snakebite programmes in Africa).