The Year Ahead
In 2024, AIGHD will focus implementing its strategy, which is essential to ensure AIGHD remains a strong actor in global health for the next decade; whilst continuing to explore new research and teaching opportunities post-COVID.
Our Executive Board from left to right: Diana Numan (Director of Operations), Prof. Anna Vassall (Executive Director), and Prof. Dr. Constance Schultsz (Director for Science)
Strengthening Institutional Relationships Across Faculties
The Executive Board will start work in the first quarter to strengthen and institutionalize its relationships with each of its constituent partner faculties across the University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit. This effort will ensure arrangements that continue to deliver innovative and impactful science; a strong educational and capacity strengthening programme; and organizational effectiveness.
Enable Communities of Learning in Global Health and across North-South partnerships
We will also continue to focus on both enabling and growing the community of researchers working in Amsterdam on global health and development; and continue to evolve our Fellows programme, facilitating new areas of work, and inter-disciplinary collaboration. Our focus for new engagements will be on identifying and supporting new entrants to global health, in areas of growing international co-operation such as climate change and health, oncology, and other non-communicable diseases. We will support partnerships that facilitate cross learning from low- and middle-income countries to high income countries and vice versa. We will increase our efforts and attention towards joint educational and capacity strengthening projects. We will continue to bring on board additional researchers from new faculties across Amsterdam and continue to support hybrid PhDs and early career researchers develop skills and expertise across disciplines.
Advocating for Global Health Research in Europe
We will drive forward co-operation with other institutions in The Netherlands and Europe; and together ensure that global health remains on the policy and research agenda. Specifically in The Netherlands, we will engage in the implementation of the new Global Health Strategy as part of the Global Health Hub, earnestly supporting a network of Dutch knowledge institutes. We will continue to work together to encourage sustained and impactful investment by European governments in global health research, through our support of EGHRIN.
Formalizing Equitable Partnerships with Key Institutions in the Global South
We will also work to formalize our relationships with key institutions in low- and middle-income countries with the aim to build long lasting and sustainable partnerships across both research and education. Critically, AIGHD will ensure our partnerships with all actors in global health are conducted in an equitable way, recognizing underlying and historical power dynamics, and respecting and encouraging diversity in the global health research community.
Orienting Ourselves for the Future
Finally, 2024 is a moment for AIGHD to reflect on the past and adjust to the future. 2024 will herald 15 years for AIGHD and 10 years since the untimely death of its founder, Prof. Joep Lange. In the spirit of both, AIGHD will continue to support innovation that improves global health, providing an environment where global health researchers from different perspectives and disciplines can interact and develop new ideas and projects.
We will strive to work together to address the emerging challenges and continue to develop research themes and projects that truly reflect priority global health issues, as defined by those in the greatest need. The executive board and the AIGHD community, working closely with all our partners, will end the year with a sustainable way forward, as together we continue to build the contribution and impact of AIGHD in the global health space in 2024 and beyond.