Enhancing collaboration for global health: Norad and FHI sign a new agreement to strengthen public health institutions and systems
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Norad's acting director, Lisetta Trebbi, and FHI's director, Guri Rørtveit, signed an agreement for phase 2 of the "Building Stronger Public Health Institutions and Systems" program, also known as the BIS program. The collaborative project, which is a continuation of BIS 1 (2022-2025), aims to strengthen public health institutions and health systems in low- and middle-income countries. The agreement for BIS 2 lasts until 2029 and amounts to a total of 126.5 million NOK.
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Norad's acting director, Trebbi, expressed great satisfaction with the long-term collaboration between Norad and FHI. She emphasized the importance of strong Norwegian institutions and their contributions to Norwegian development cooperation. Trebbi also praised the experts from FHI who contribute to the BIS program and pointed out the importance of using expertise to strengthen health systems globally.
Trebbi also emphasized the geopolitical significance of such cooperation:
– In our time of lower trust between the south and north, it is all the more important to become acquainted, exchange and learn from each other to build trust, where long-term and equitable partnerships are more important than ever.
The cooperation between Norad and FHI aligns with Norad's strategy to support knowledge-based and data-driven responses in public health work.
FHI: Committed to global health
FHI's director, Guri Rørtveit, expressed delight over the trust FHI has received through the BIS 2 agreement.
– It has been a long but good process, she said, praising the partnership with Norad to strengthen public health institutions in Malawi, Ethiopia, Palestine, and Nepal, as well as support to international organizations such as Africa CDC, IANPHI, and WHO.
Rørtveit pointed out that the BIS 2 program aligns with Norway's global health priorities and the International Health Regulations (IHR), as well as recommendations from "Norway can, Norway should", referring to the report from several non-governmental organizations and think tanks, which emphasizes the importance of strengthening public health through the establishment and development of national and regional public health institutes.
FHI sees this not just as a continuation of existing efforts, but also as a strengthening of our vision of "better health for all," both nationally and globally. "Our role is to develop, compile and disseminate knowledge about what contributes to good health in the population," Rørtveit added, highlighting the importance of global partnerships in addressing challenges such as pandemics and outbreaks.
Future partnerships
Both Trebbi and Rørtveit emphasized the importance of institutional anchoring and leadership anchoring for partnerships to ensure lasting changes.
– Better health for all cannot be achieved without global collaborations and partnerships, concluded Rørtveit.
The agreement marks an important step towards strengthening global public health systems and demonstrates Norway's commitment to developing and collaborating on effective public health measures in selected low- and middle-income countries. We look forward to following the development of the BIS2 program in the years to come.