The Practice Platform focuses on the implementation of strategies, methodologies, capacity building, and actions to reduce inequalities and promote health.
The Policy Platform monitors, analyses and informs the policy processes that affect health and inequality at international, European, national, and sub-national levels.
The Research Platform works within EU and international programmes to contribute to research projects that address the causes of health inequalities, while connecting and supporting research institutes.
EuroHealthNet members are accountable public bodies with responsibilities and/or expertise in public health, health promotion, health inequalities, disease prevention, or other relevant fields.
Usually national or regional public health institutes, authorities and government departments, they work on improving health, addressing the social determinants of health, and/or reducing health inequalities.
Members are part of all platforms and receive additional core member services. They set the direction of the partnership.
Associate Members are universities, civil society organisations, and others which are not necessarily statutory bodies but identify with EuroHealthNet’s mission and want to take part in our work that is most relevant to them.
Associate members can join one or more of the three platforms and pay a reduced fee for the more limited services received. They have no voting or governance role.
The General Council is one of EuroHealthNet’s two governing bodies. It only comprises members. The General Council meets annually to discuss progress, and to approve annual reports and budgets. The General Council also elects the Executive Board.
Members of the Executive Board are elected from the General Council. They serve terms of two years, during which they develop annual strategies, work plans, and budgets. The Executive Board is informed by an external evaluator.
Observers are mostly Ministries of Health. They play a specific, mutually agreed role. Their status is reviewed and granted on an annual basis by the General Council and is by invitation only. They do not have a voting or governance role.
EuroHealthNet’s office is based in Brussels and staffed by a skilled team of 14 employees working in a diverse and dynamic environment with highly experienced leadership by Director Caroline Costings.
Several changes occurred during the Executive Board elections. At an executive board meeting on 7th July:
“EuroHealthNet is providing invaluable European insight, strengthening advocacy, cross-sector partnership and participatory governance for health. Our long-term membership has presented fantastic opportunities for collaborative work, sharing and learning on important topics, such as health equity, sustainable development and investment for health and wellbeing.”
Dr Mariana Dyakova (Public Health Wales, WHO Collaborating Centre on Investment for Health and Wellbeing)
The seminar was opened by Dr. María Luisa Carcedo, the Minister of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare, who noted: “The reduction of social and health inequalities is a priority in the design of this Ministry’s policies. We know that the way in which health provision and health policies are organised can be very powerful tools in the creation of fairer and more equitable societies.”
The seminar was divided into two sessions, the morning session delivered primarily to an audience of Spanish health professionals, and the afternoon session to health professionals and EuroHealthNet members. Roundtable themes included:
The speakers included Dr Ricardo Baptista Leite, Head of Public Health at Catholic University of Portugal and Member of the Portuguese Parliament, Dr Rafael Cofino Fernandez, head of Health and Programs Evaluation Service at Asturias Health Department (Spain), Dr Jennie Popay, Professor of Sociology and Public Health at Lancaster University, and Dr Carme Borrell I Thio, Manager at the Public Health Agency of Barcelona. Representatives from EuroHealthNet, NHS Health Scotland, NIJZ, RIVM, and SALAR also spoke.
We continue to make efforts to increase the share of funding from direct participation. We do not accept funding from for-profit bodies.
In addition to internal financial management and planning, an external accountant prepares the annual financial and balance reports, which are then certified by a separate auditing firm. The General Council approves the financial reports at its annual meeting.
EuroHealthNet works in a transparent, ethical, and independent way. We have adopted a code of conduct for the organisation and membership, and ethical guidelines for partnership building. Procurement, risk management, human resource, and financial rules are set out in the EuroHealthNet ‘How We Work’ document, available on request. We consider and evaluate the environmental impacts of all actions and procurement decisions.
The first new TWIG is the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Programme Registers – or ‘Best Practice Portals’ TWIG. There are currently 13 participants representing eight EuroHealthNet member organisations. Activities are co-led by representatives from the German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA), the French National Public Health Agency (Santé publique France) and the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). The TWiG aims to become the ‘competence engine’ for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Programme Registers in Europe, acting as a platform for exchange between programme registers to share findings, initiate joint projects, and identify and further develop common topics. Building on learnings from the Capacity Building Workshop held in Cologne in June 2019 (detailed below), the TWIG co-leaders organised a workshop at the European Public Health Conference in November to present early findings and liaise with representatives from the European Commission’s Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Best Practice Portal. In May 2020, the full group met virtually to review progress towards the 2020 work plan objectives.
Additional themes and opportunities for TWIGs are being explored. Members are encouraged to identify common areas of interest and submit applications.
Together with EuroHealthNet members leading the Best Practice Portals TWIG (BZgA, RIVM and SpF), EuroHealthNet organised a workshop on Developing Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Best Practice Portals from 11-12 June 2019. The workshop was hosted by the BZgA in Cologne and was open to EuroHealthNet members and invited experts in the field.
Each year, EuroHealthNet organises outreach visits, participates in member-hosted events, and invites its members to visit the EuroHealthNet office in Brussels. Some examples this year include:
Our work would not be possible without the continued commitment and support of Members and Associate Members, and the European Commission’s EaSI Programme 2018-2021. Thanks to you, we are delivering results that will create healthier, fairer futures.
At the General Council meeting in June 2019, long standing Executive Board member and Treasurer in the past 4 years, Malcolm Ward (Public Health Wales) stood down, as did Jose Maria Albuquerque (Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Portugal), formerly Vice President. We would like to sincerely thank you both for your participation and strategic advice over the years.
We welcome four new board members, Mariana Dyakova (Public Health Wales), Frank Lehmann (Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) Germany), Lorna Renwick (Public Health Scotland) and Prof. Plamen Dimitrov (National Center of Public Health and Analyses (NCPHA) – Bulgaria.) We are delighted with the continuation of Mojca Gabrijelcic as President, Vertti Kiukas as Vice President and Giovanni Gorgoni as Treasurer. We also thank Frank Lehman (BZgA), Dr Paolo Stocco, and Professor Mirosław J. Wysocki who serve on our board.
We are also immensely grateful for the hard work and commitment of our team in Brussels, as well as for the continuing support of our Honorary Advisor Bosse Petterson.
In the past year, we have been joined by a new member of staff, Süheyla Ugurtas, who had already joined us in 2017 as a volunteer via Tandem Programme and is now working with us temporarily as project assistant.
We also said farewell to Dr Andrew Barnfield, coordinator of the Practice Platform. We wish you the very best for the future.
Two interns have provided valuable support to the office this year. Thank you to Andrea Bidoli (Policy and Network Development Intern) and Marta Matuzonyte (student from Canadian Network for European Studies).
We have worked with several external suppliers over the last year and are very grateful for their support. Frédéric Demaude provides accountancy services, RSM carries out various financial audits, Alka provides IT support, Kwitelle, Wim Vandersleyen, and ReBrand Studio provide graphic design and web services, JordacheWD redeveloped and maintains our magazine and is developing a new online ideas hub for financing health promoting services, CloudMachine has developed our videos, BusinessAndCode manages our CRM database, and Stephen Barnett is our external evaluator.
Our work would not be possible without the continued commitment and support of Members and Associate Members, and the European Commission’s EaSI Programme 2018-2021. Thanks to you, we are delivering results that will create healthier, fairer futures.
Full membership is open to accountable public bodies with responsibilities and/or expertise in public health, health promotion, health inequalities, disease prevention, or other relevant fields. They are mostly national, regional or local institutes, authorities, and government departments.
To allow non-statutory bodies such as universities, non-governmental and civil society organisations, and other international networks to become part of EuroHealthNet, the Associate Membership category was developed. Associate Members can become part of one or more platforms.
Contact us
EuroHealthNet Office
Rue Royale 146
1000 Brussels – Belgium
Tel.: + 32-2-235 03 20
info@eurohealthnet.eu
www.eurohealthnet.eu
To find out about become a Member of EuroHealthNet, or about many of the other ways to become involved in our work, contact d.hargitt@eurohealthnet.eu.
