Policy

We share our expertise and cultivate relationships with key decision-making bodies, government departments, and NGOs to collaboratively develop policies, strategies and interventions in health and development.

By facilitating opportunities for cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary networking and knowledge exchange, we help to maximize local and global impact of policy changes, ensuring greater access to high quality health care.

Over the past 10 years, our interdisciplinary team has made significant contributions to policy around the world. Below are highlights from the past two years.

Ongoing Initiatives

Clingendael global health Initiative

Frank Cobelens co-founded the initiative, which brings together Dutch stakeholders in global health (including academia, ministries, industry and NGOs) to define the needs and role for The Netherlands in global health, and advocate for a broader strategic approach to global health by the Netherlands Government.
As a result, a report titled Why the Netherlands should step up its ambitions on global health was published by the Netherlands Institute for International Relations Clingendael in 2017.
In January 2019, Clingendael members came together for their third meeting to discuss how industry, academia and NGOs can support the Dutch government in continuing to prioritize global health activities. Some of these include creating meaningful policy and ensuring visibility by participating in international workshops and discussions

TBnet

Frank van Leth currently serves as chair of the 650-member network organization. AIGHD is a founding member of the organization.
The group seeks to improve care and treatment for people with tuberculosis through research and education initiatives.
The network has an impressive research output including publications in journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Emerging Infectious Diseases, and the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and recently published an editorial in the European Respiratory Journal outlining ambitious goals for the next three years.

Highlights from 2018

European clinical research consortium TBnet

Frank van Leth serves as Chair of TBnet, a European research collaboration consisting of over 650 members dedicated to collaborative basic, translational, clinical, and applied TB research. TBnet research has been featured in journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, and Emerging Infectious Diseases.
TBnet also engages in training early career clinicians and researchers in the field of TB, as exemplified by the annual TBnet Academy and the European Advanced Course in Clinical Tuberculosis.

22nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018)

Peter Reiss served as Local Co-Chair of The 22nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018), which took place in Amsterdam from July 22-28, 2018.
AIDS 2018 is the largest conference on any global health or development issue. First convened during the peak of the AIDS epidemic in 1985, this conference continues to provide a unique forum for the intersection of science and advocacy, and an opportunity to strengthen policies and programs to ensure an evidence-based response to the epidemic.
The conference brought together some 15,000 participants from around the world.

TB2018

Frank Cobelens served as local co-chair for TB2018, an official pre-conference of the 22nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018).
The event highlighted the key scientific challenges related to TB and TB/HIV research on prevention, diagnosis and treatment to set the stage for the UN General Assembly high-level meeting on TB

Clingendael Meeting, January 2019

Photo credit: © Anika Snel (KNCV)

Assoc. Prof. Frank van Leth at the Union
World Conference on Lung Health

October 2018

Prof. Peter Reiss, co-chair of AIDS2018

Photo credit: © IAS/ Matthijs Immink

Highlights from 2017

World Health Organization (WHO) HIVResNet

AIGHD collaborated with World Health Organization’s HIVResNet team to write two articles
Tobias Rinke de Wit opened the launch of the new WHO guidelines and reports on worldwide HIV drug resistance during the IAS conference in Paris
PhD student Seth Inzaule was offered a position at the WHO HIVResNet team in Geneva and began his role in 2018.
In July, AIGHD hosted a meeting with WHO HIVResNet team and Dutch stakeholders, including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Health, Welfare and Sports, and the National Institute of Public Health and The Environment where other types of antimicrobial resistance (common bacterial pathogens; tuberculosis) were highlighted.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in sub-Saharan Africa

Constance Schultsz advised the newly established Africa Centers for Disease Control (Africa CDC) on the development of the Africa CDC antimicrobial resistance (AMR) Framework.
The framework prioritizes and advises African Union countries on the development and implementation of their AMR action plan.

TB Contribution to World Health Organization Framework

Frank Cobelens contributed to a World Health Organization (WHO) framework for the evaluation of improved tests for latent TB infection.
Important contributions were also made in the field of global HIV elimination through involvement in high-level policy panels by Peter Reiss.

Global health research policy

Cate Hankinsbegan her term as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the European-Developing Countries Clinical Trials Platform (EDCTP), a major EU funder for research on new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for poverty-related diseases and neglected tropical diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.
Frank Cobelenswas appointed member of the International Advisory Board of the Research Networks for Health Innovations in Sub-Saharan Africa, a flagship initiative by the German Government to fund and accelerate global health research.

Dutch food security policy

Chris Elbersand Menno Pradhan each led a research project assessing the impact of food security projects, one in Rwanda, the other in Uganda.
The projects were part of a larger effort to gather evidence on the effectiveness of Dutch assistance to improving food security in developing countries.
These two evaluations provided valuable input for the policy review of Dutch food security policy 2012-2016.
The policy review and underlying evaluation reports were sent to Parliament in April 2018.

Latent Tuberculosis Guidelines (WHO)

The results of a systematic review on the preventive treatment for recurrent tuberculosis, led by Frank van Leth, have been incorporated into the 2018 WHO guidelines on latent tuberculosis infection.