Health Systems Global

Board Members

Irene Agyepong (Chair), University of Ghana School of Public Health
Sara Bennett (Vice-Chair), John Hopkins School of Public Health, USA
Somsak Chunharas (Treasurer), National Health Foundation, Thailand
Dina Balabanova, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
Peter Berman, Harvard University, USA
Natalie Eggermont, Ghent University, Belgium
Fadi El-Jardali, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Tim Evans, BRAC University, Bangladesh
Qingyue Meng, Peking University Health Science Center, China
Anne Mills, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
Freddie Ssengooba, Makerere University, School of Public Health, Uganda

Secretariat

CHIP, University of Copenhagen

History

Secretariat

Jeffrey V. Lazarus – Director

Jeff is a Professor of International Health Systems at Copenhagen University and an Affiliated Professor at the Medical School in Porto University. Previously he worked on knowledge translation and communicating results at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Prior to joining the Fund he spent ten years at WHO Europe in Copenhagen as a health systems and communicable diseases expert. In his work around the world he has always sought to bridge the “knowledge-action” gap through targeted communication and knowledge translation. LinkedIn, Twitter

healthsystemsresearch@cphiv.dk

Background

The first Global Symposium on Health Systems Research was held in Montreux, Switzerland, in November 2010. The Symposium was attended by over 1,200 participants from more than 100 countries. It produced a clear message about what, how and why health systems research should be strengthened to contribute to universal health coverage around the world.

Several recommendations emerged from Symposium participants:

that research organizations, policy-makers and donors need to define, plan for and support a more compelling health systems research agenda to be carried out in low- and middle-income countries;
the capacity for health systems research in these settings needs to be strengthened;
new evidence and knowledge created through this agenda needs to be locally relevant; and
that new and more robust methodologies for health systems research are needed, particularly methods focusing on complex health systems interventions.

In addition, it was highlighted that there is currently no organization for or network of health systems researchers, decisionmakers and implementers to take forward the above agenda. As a result, consensus was reached, captured in the Montreux Statement (2010) on the need to create an international society for health systems research, knowledge, innovation and action. This society would focus on building a larger constituency and enhance the credibility and capacity for health systems research globally and in low- and middle-income countries specifically. It would be member driven and constitute the first global body fully dedicated to promoting health systems research.

A working group was established to create this society under the guidance of the Executive Committee of the Second Global Symposium on Health Systems Research. Membership in the working group was drawn from Symposium Steering Committee members with the addition of several others involved in health systems research. Funds for working group activities were provided by the Rockefeller Foundation with members of the Working Group contributing their time as a contribution in kind. Its mandate ended at the launch of the new organisation at the Second Global Symposium on Health Systems Research, in Beijing (Nov 2012).

Health Systems Global was legally founded on 26 October 2012 by Peter Berman, Tim Evans, Steven Gloyd, Prea Gulati, Marie-Gloriose Ingabire, Dan Kraushaar, Jeffrey Lazarus, Shenglan Tang and CHIP, University of Copenhagen.

Interim Period

From 2012 to 2014 Health Systems Global will be co-hosted by the University of Copenhagen and the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research. The secretariat in Copenhagen will manage the resources and membership functions while the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research will oversee the planning and organization of the Third Global Symposium in 2014. Both will operate under the guidance of the governing body of Health Systems Global, which was formalized in Beijing in November 2012. Until then the organization and interim hosts operated under the guidance of the Second Global Symposium Executive Committee and the Working Group mandated with creating HS Global. Working group members were:

Dan Kraushaar (Chair), Management Sciences for Health, USA
Peter Berman, Harvard University, USA
Tim Evans, School of Public Health, BRAC University, Bangladesh
Abdul Ghaffar, Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, WHO
Steven Gloyd, Department of Global Health, University of Washingington, USA
Prea Gulati, School of Public Health, BRAC University, Bangladesh
Marie-Gloriose Ingabire, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada
Shenglan Tang, Global Health Institute, Duke University, USA (Formerly WHO/TDR)
Ex officio: Jeffrey Lazarus, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Ex officio: M. Kent Ranson, Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, WHO

Logistics and administrative support was provided by Megan Rauscher, Management Sciences for Health and John Warriner, Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research.