Catalyst Dialogues: Perspectives of different non-state actors on current global health issues
In addition to the Hub Communities, which are organised and initiated by the members themselves, the Hub is assembling experts from different stakeholder groups on politically relevant topics in Catalyst Dialogues. The Catalyst Dialogues reflect the diversity of perspectives within the Hub. However, the number of participants in these processes is limited to ensure they can deliver concrete results within a few months.
Selection of relevant global health topics
Each year, the 16 voting members of our Steering Committee select policy-relevant focus topics. In 2022, the topics were "Global Health Architecture" and "Climate and Health". For 2023, the topics are "Global Health Financing" and "Digital Health Data Governance". Together with our partner Healthy DEvelopments, the Hub management team organises Catalyst Dialogues on these focus topics with renowned experts from at least four different stakeholder groups.
Cross-sector and cross-actor global health experts
The experts participate in several debates and individual interviews on the respective focus topics. Their perspectives and arguments are then compiled in a Policy Brief and concrete recommendations are formulated for German policymakers. The Hub management team carries these recommendations into the political environment so that the different perspectives and expertise of non-state actors are considered in political decision-making. "Through our cross-actor approach, our Policy Briefs offer a unique opportunity to familiarise oneself at a glance with the different positions of the various global health stakeholder groups on the respective question", explains Kristina Knispel, former Managing Director of the Global Health Hub Germany.
Global Health Architecture
In the first half of 2022, we held our first Catalyst Dialogue with seven high-level representatives from academia, development cooperation, foundations, international organisations and the private sector on the question "What should a global health architecture that meets everyone’s needs look like?":
- Dr Christoph Benn, Director for Global Health Diplomacy, Joep Lange Institute
- Kate Dodson, Vice President for Global Health Strategy, United Nations Foundation
- Roland Göhde, Chair of the Board, German Health Alliance
- Prof. Dr Anna Holzscheiter, Professor of International Politics, Technical University Dresden
- Prof. Dr Dr Ilona Kickbusch, Founder and Chair of the Global Health Centre, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva
- Jean-Olivier Schmidt, Head of Programme, BACKUP Health, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ)
- Elhadj As Sy, Chair of the Board, Kofi Annan Foundation
Read Global Health Architecture Policy Brief
Health and Climate Change
Under the question "How can a holistic understanding of health contribute to a holistic approach to the climate crisis?" we organised a Catalyst Dialogue with seven renowned experts from development cooperation, international organisations, youth, foundations, science and civil society in the second half of 2022:
- Prof. Dr Dr Sabine Gabrysch, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin and German Advisory Council on Global Change
- Sophie Gepp, Board Member of the German Alliance on Climate Change and Health (KLUG) and Centre for Planetary Health Policy
- Christian Griebenow, Veterinarians without Borders
- Dr Kim Grützmacher, International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ)
- Melvine Anyango Otieno, Planetary Health Eastern Africa Hub
- Prof. em. Dr Michael Succow, Michael Succow Foundation
- Elena Villalobos Prats, World Health Organization (WHO)
Global Health Financing
At the Global Health Talk 2023, we launched a policy brief presenting the outcomes of a joint Catalyst Dialogue on “How to increase funding for health for all and spend existing funds more effectively". Five distinguished representatives from academia, development cooperation, think tanks, the private sector and multilateral institutions participated in the Catalyst Dialogue:
- Dr Christoph Benn, Director for Global Health Diplomacy, Joep Lange Institute
- Prof. Dr Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
- Tom Hart, Research Fellow, ODI
- Lesley-Anne Long, President & CEO, Global Business Coalition for Health
- Dr Riaz Tanoli, CEO, Social Health Protection Initiative, Health Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Digital Health Data Governance
At a roundtable on the sidelines of the World Health Summit 2023, we launched a policy brief presenting the results of a Catalyst Dialogue on "A new global framework on health data governance?" with four distinguished representatives from academia, development cooperation, foundations and the private sector:
- Dr Frances Baaba da-Costa Vroom, President, Pan African Health Informatics Association
- Alexandrine Pirlot de Corbion, Director of Strategy, Privacy International, with inputs from Tom West, Legal Officer
- Dr Christoph Benn, Director for Global Health Diplomacy, Joep Lange Institute; President, Transform Health; Board Chair, The International Digital Health and AI Research Collaborative (I-DAIR)
- Dr Christian Möhlen, former Global Head of Legal Affairs, Kry International
Read policy brief on Digital Health Data Governance
