20 August 2010

The first in a series of GHE Issue Briefs is now available online. The GHE Issue Briefs are concise, policy oriented background documents. In each brief Global Health Europe provides an analysis of global health's most pressing challenges viewed through a governance lense and approached from interdisciplinary perspectives. The first brief looks at the WHO's new Code on the ethical international recruitment of health workers and asks what implications this has for Europe.

The brief can be viewed (PDF) here: GHE Issue Brief, June 2010

In May this year, Dr. Marc Sprenger began his five year term as Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The ECDC is an agency of the EU with a clear mandate - to strengthen Europe's defences against infectious diseases and threats of unknown origin. However, for many the ECDC is still something of a mystery. The name "ECDC" invites comparison to the better known CDC in Atlanta, and other new institutions like the CCDC, in China. While similar to these, the ECDC is different in very important ways, for example it has no laboratories. Furthermore, there are other health bodies in Europe, from national level institutes of health and tropical medicine, to the Regional Office of the World Health Organization - and many of them focus on fighting infectious diseases. In this hugely important area where exactly does the ECDC fit into this crowded network and what are its roles? Global Health Europe recently had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Marc Sprenger on his vision for ECDC, and the role this relatively new institution plays within the expanding network of European global health actors.

19 August 2010

On 16 August 2010, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took time out of her busy schedule to speak about the Obama administration's Global Health Initiative (GHI) to faculty and students at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). With so many crises in the world, what was a Secretary of State doing speaking about global health? "Some might accuse me of taking a little break from those crises to come to SAIS to talk about global health," joked Clinton, "what exactly does maternal health, or immunizations, or the fight against HIV and AIDS have to do with foreign policy? Well, my answer is everything."

03 August 2010

Following the 'Europe 2020' paper adopted by the European Commission on 3 March 2010, the European Commission DG TRADE launched a broad public consultation on the future direction of EU trade policy. The Commission's intention is to set out its policy during autumn 2010, explaining how trade policy can help achieve the objectives of the 'Europe 2020' Strategy. The purpose of this consultation was to gather views from relevant stakeholders regarding the rationale, scope and strategic objectives for a future EU trade policy. The consultation was open to all stakeholders within the EU and in third countries. Below you will find a copy of the consultation questionnaire with Global Health Europe's responses. While the consultation is now closes, we invite you to continue the debate here through your comment on the GHE contribution.

03 August 2010

In her blog article "Rethinking the mission of medical schools", Jemma Weymouth summarizes a recent debate which asks whether US medical schools are producing the health workforce that America needs. The recent study that sparked this debate did so by ranking US medical schools in an innovative and highly provocative way: on the extent to which they accomplish a "social mission": producing doctors who practice primary care, work in underserved areas and are minorities underrepresented among health professionals. This debate is made all the more pressing as the US prepares for an influx of newly-insured patients under health reform. Europe is also at a point where the health needs of its citizens are changing in ways that surpass the missions' of medical schools created to cope with 20th century challenges. Are European medical schools producing a health workforce capable to tackle Europe's future health needs?