IANPHI 2024 General Assembly Highlights

IANPHI 2024 General Assembly

The IANPHI General Assembly is IANPHI’s governing body and consists of our national members. A meeting of the general assembly was held online on December 10, 2024.

During the meeting, highlights of IANPHI 2024 activities and accomplishments were shared. Other topics were presented, including an overview of the association’s financial status, the new Code of Practice, the updated IANPHI Statutes and Internal Rules, as well as the future hosting arrangements for the IANPHI Secretariat and Secretary General. Many of these topics were voted on by IANPHI’s national member institutes.

Recognitions of Success 2024

In 2024, 43 projects from 27 countries were submitted to IANPHI’s Regional Chairs for consideration of Recognition of Success. IANPHI’s Recognition of Success initiative highlights a selection of outstanding projects led by member institutes.

The winners by region are:

  • IANPHI Africa Regional Network: “Establishing a Countrywide Mortality Surveillance for Action (COMSA) in Mozambique and transitioning to SIS-COVE(Community health and vital events surveillance system”, National Institute of Health of Mozambique. The INS Mozambique implemented the first Sample Registration System (SRS) as a system to capture national and sub-national representative vital statistics in an African country.
  • IANPHI Asia Regional Network: “Establishing a global health security coordinating platform “GHS Coordination Office” and expanding collaborative activities”, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The KDCA established a platform for international collaboration on health security, providing expert support, coordinating global health security efforts, and promoting capacity-building through training programs and partnerships with international organizations.
  • IANPHI Europe Regional Network: “STOP furry Influenza A(H5N1)”, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare conducted a successful intervention and control of a large-scale outbreak of Avian Influenza A(H5N1) among fur-farms in Finland by a One-Health approach.
  • IANPHI Latin America and Caribbean Regional Network: “Academic reform: putting public health at the center”, National Institute of Public Health of Mexico. The INSP of Mexico implemented an academic reform focusing on public health, impacting both research and education. It included a revision of the missions, reorganization of academic bodies, and the renewal of graduate programs.

Presentation of 2024 IANPHI Highlights

IANPHI Secretary-General Anne-Catherine Viso, IANPHI Director of Collaborative Surveillance, Workforce and Health Emergencies, Sadaf Lynes, and Director of the IANPHI U.S. Office Ellen Whitney presented the 2024 IANPHI activities aligned with IANPHI Strategy 2021-2025 and its five strategic priorities.

1. Strengthen Professional Relationships

The secretariat supported the work of the five thematic committees (Climate Change and Public Health, Social and Public Health Inequalities, Essential Public Health Functions, Public Health Professional Development, and Pandemic Preparedness Response and Recovery), as well as the four IANPHI Regional Networks (Asia, Africa, Europe and Latam) and the focal points network.

Ten webinars were organized by IANPHI in 2024 bringing together expertise from numerous NPHIs to benefit the network and global public health community.

2. Harness Collective Expertise

Bjørn Gunnar Iversen, Senior Medical Officer with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, presented the final Code of Practice produced by the IANPHI Essential Public Health Functions Thematic Committee, which was approved unanimously by the IANPHI General Assembly.

In 2024, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) grant awarded to IANPHI continued to serve its purpose of supporting activities related to health emergencies, in particular representing perspectives and needs of NPHI’s related to the domains of the Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC).

With funding from a cooperative agreement with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the IANPHI U.S. Office supported NPHI building and strengthening. Projects included strengthening Argentina’s Malbrán Institute Laboratory for antimicrobial resistance detection; enhancing public health systems in Burkina Faso; strengthening emergency preparedness in Jordan; accelerating NPHI development in West Africa; supporting the development of an NPHI in Vietnam; supporting Uganda NPHI’s implementation of a toolkit to analyze health-seeking behaviors and disease transmission dynamics across the Malawi-Zambia border with Uganda; and promoting health equity in Latin America with Fiocruz. Additionally, they worked with U.S. CDC on updating the Staged Development Tool and produced several case studies.

3. Engage, Support, and Grow Membership

IANPHI welcomed four new national members and two associate members. Additionally, IANPHI changed the status for six institutes from associate to national membership.

4. Advocate for NPHIs Globally and at Country Level

Between September 9-11, 2024, an official G20 National Public Health Institute side meeting was held in Rio De Janeiro, under the G20 presidency of Brazil. The meeting was co-hosted by IANPHI, Fiocruz, and Africa CDC. Discussions were held on the four main priorities for the G20 Health Working Group and the role of National Public Health Institutes in delivering outcomes that prevented and reduced harmful health impacts on populations. The themes were: Preparedness and Response to Health Emergencies, Climate Change and Health, Health Equities and Health System Resilience. A declaration was developed and agreed which has a call for action with five priorities for National Public Health Institutes. The declaration was presented to the G20 Ministers of Health.

Communications metrics for IANPHI’s work in 2024 were shared: 10 email campaigns were opened 15,744 times; 16 LinkedIn posts garnered 26,673 views; 12 Facebook posts were viewed 1,663 times; and the IANPHI webpage was viewed 30,807 page views by 14,204 users.

5. Build an Agile Association

The association is implementing an investment strategy to support the 2021-2025 strategic plan. In this context, the secretariat launched an Oversight Investment Committee, aimed at assessing new investment proposals to ensure alignment with IANPHI's strategic priorities, available resources, and ethical standards. IANPHI participated to the submission of several grant applications.

The IANPHI Secretariat continued supporting the executive board and the general assembly. The secretariat also managed the administrative and financial aspects of the association such as collecting the dues, preparing the annual budget and organizing major events, meetings and webinars.

In 2024, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) grant awarded to IANPHI continued to serve its purpose of supporting activities related to health emergencies, in particular representing perspectives and needs of NPHI’s related to the domains of the Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC).

Sadaf Lynes continued her work of representation for IANPHI in international fora, as well as searching for funding and developing new projects. In 2024, she particularly worked on a new GHEC survey, a G20 side meeting on Public Health in Brazil, and the Wellcome Trust.

Decisions Approved by the General Assembly

IANPHI National Members were invited to vote online on various topics during the general assembly meeting. A quorum of one-third of voters was reached and the results of the elections were announced at the end of the meeting.

1. Future hosting arrangements for the Secretary General and the Secretariat

The future hosting arrangements for the IANPHI Secretariat and Secretary General were presented to the IANPHI General Assembly. An open election was held and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) (Berlin, Germany) was approved as the new host of the IANPHI Secretariat and Secretary General. The current host, Santé publique France (Paris, France), will work with RKI on the transition.

2. Amendments to the IANPHI Statutes

Maître Olivier Dugardyn, IANPHI’s lawyer, presented the amendments to the IANPHI Statutes of the Association. Since the quorum of three-quarter was not reached, another IANPHI General Assembly was organized on January 14, 2025 to approve them. The statutes were approved.

3. Amendments to the Internal Rules

Anne-Catherine Viso, IANPHI Secretary General, presented the amendment to the IANPHI Internal Rules. It was approved by the members.

4. Accounts 2023, Budget 2024 and Proposal for 2025

Dr. Juan Angel Rivera Dommarco, IANPHI Treasurer, presented the final accounts of the association for 2023 which was approved by members. He explained that another approval, as well as the discharge of the IANPHI Executive Board Members for 2023 would need to be voted after the audit is completed. IANPHI treasurer gave an update on the 2024 budget to the members and the budget proposal of the association for 2025 was presented. The members approved the 2025 budget.

5. IANPHI Vice-President Election

The IANPHI Vice-President Prof. Meerjady Sabrina Flora’s, Director of the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM) Bangladesh, term came to an end. An open election was held and Prof. Aamer Ikram, former Director General of the National Institute of Health of Pakistan was elected as the new IANPHI Vice-President for a three-year term beginning in January 2025 until December 2027.

6. IANPHI Treasurer Election

Dr. Juan Angel Rivera Dommarco’s, INSP Mexico, term as IANPHI Treasurer ended. An open election was held and Prof. Mika Salminen, Director of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, was elected as Treasurer of IANPHI for a three-year term beginning in January 2025 until December 2027.

7. IANPHI Executive Board Members

The terms for three IANPHI Executive Board Member came to an end:

Following an open election, three new IANPHI Executive Board Members were elected and will serve on the executive board from January 2025 until December 2027.

In 2024 IANPHI Executive Board member, Dr. Yanaris López Almaguer, Director of the Institute of Tropical Medicine 'Pedro Kouri' (Cuba), was replaced by Prof. Vivian Kourí Cardellá as Director of the Institute. Prof Cardella therefore replaced Dr. Almaguer on the IANPHI Executive Board. The IANPHI General Assembly officially approved Prof Cardella’s appointment to the IANPHI Executive Board.

IANPHI National Members and Associated Members

The IANPHI General Assembly approved four new National Members:

  • The Public Health Agency of Northern Ireland The Public Health Agency of Northern Ireland (PHA) was established in April 2009 as part of the reforms to Health and Social Care (HSC) in Northern Ireland. It is a multi-disciplinary, multi-professional body with a strong regional and local presence. It provides health protection and health and social wellbeing improvement for all in Northern Ireland.
  • The National Public Health Agency of Sierra Leone The National Public Health Agency of Sierra Leone was established in 2022 by the Public Health Act. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Health, it serves as a hub of scientific expertise, leadership, and coordination of all public health actors. It focuses on evidence-based policymaking and strengthening health systems. It Addresses public health concerns in line with national public health needs and Global Health Security (GHS) requirements.
  • The “Rafael Rangel” National Institute of Hygiene (INHRR) of Venezuela The “Rafael Rangel” National Institute of Hygiene (INHRR) of Venezuela was established in 1938. It is an autonomous institute of national reference for diagnosis, development of biotechnologies, research on endemo-epidemic diseases, health surveillance of products for human use and consumption, production of experimental animals and training of human talent in the areas of its competence.
  • The National Public Health Institute of Mali The National Public Health Institute of Mali was established in 2019. It was crated from a merger of the Institut National de Recherche en Santé Publique (INRSP), the Centre de Recherche et de Documentation pour la Survie de l'Enfant (CREDOS), the Agence Nationale de la Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments (ANSSA), and the Centre National d'Appui à la lutte contre la Maladie (CNAM), which includes autonomous units such as the Centre de Développement des Vaccins (CVD), the Centre influenzae, the Centre de Pharmacovigilance and the Département des Opérations d'Urgence (DOUSP).

The IANPHI General Assembly also approved the application of two new Associate Members:

  • The Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare and Public Health under the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan The Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare and Public Health under the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan was established in 2020. It is a state body part of the Ministry of Health, responsible for the implementation of a unified state policy in the field of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population and public health.
  • The Institut Pasteur de Dakar of Senegal The Institut Pasteur de Dakar of Senegal was established in 1924 by the Institut Pasteur de Paris and recognized as a public utility foundation in 2010. The Institut works to accelerate equitable, sustainable and affordable access to health in Africa. It provides communities with healthcare solutions and laboratory services, engages in cutting-edge biomedical research and innovation, manufactures vaccines and diagnostic essential African populations, develops human capital, and engages in public health activities, such as epidemic intelligence, outbreak response and Surveillance.

The IANPHI Members also approved the change of membership status of three Associate Members. They also regularized the change of membership status of three members that had changed status in February 2024 during an extraordinary IANPHI General Assembly. Therefore, from January 2025 onwards, the following members become National Members:

IANPHI Partners

The IANPHI General Assembly approved a new partnership with the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The partnership is focused on developing a Framework for Global Monitoring of Health Impacts of Extreme Heat. The GHHIN will mainly work on projects with IANPHI Thematic Committee on Climate Change and Public Health.

Announcement of the 2026 and 2027 hosts for the IANPHI Annual Meeting

Prof. Duncan Selbie, IANPHI President, announced that the Dubai Health Authority will host the 2026 IANPHI Annual Meeting, and the Instituto Nacional de Salud of El Saldavor will host the 2027 IANPHI Annual Meeting. Relevant presentations and the recording of the meeting are available and can be requested from the secretariat at: secretariat@ianphi.org

Read the official minutes.

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