World Health Organization Renews CGHH as Official Collaborating Centre
Centre for Global Health Histories will be an official collaborating centre for four more years
The World Health Organization (WHO) has redesignated the University of York Department of History’s Centre for Global Health Histories as the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Health Histories. Redesignation will last for a further four year period until 2021.
Since 2013 the Collaborating Centre, which is funded by the Wellcome Trust, has worked with the WHO on a workplan to expand the international Global Health Histories seminar series at the WHO’s Headquarters and Regional Offices around the world, and produce five evidence-based multi-lingual policy and public engagement publications on Tuberculosis, Tropical Diseases, Universal Health Coverage, Leprosy, and Mental Health. The Centre has, in addition, assisted in knowledge generation, policy evaluation, public engagement and staff training, working with the WHO on these activities on an independent basis. Future plans, for the forthcoming four years, will involve research for policy, as well as assistance with recording the histories of WHO, its offices and departments.
The application for redesignation was supported by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, an organization which the collaborating centre works closely with. In the letter of redesignation, Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, the Regional Director of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, acknowledged the Collaborating Centre’s valuable contribution over the previous year period and looked forward to a continuing successful collaboration.
Collaborating Centre status is awarded to selected centres and institutions which are established WHO collaborators and have a proven track record in assisting the WHO to implement its work and achieve its goals. The University of York benefits from increased visibility and recognition by national authorities, and greater public attention, and the formal agreement sustains the opportunities to exchange information and develop technical co-operation with other institutions at national and international levels.
Professor Lawrence Black, Head of the University of York’s Department of History said: “This is fantastic news for the Department of History and University of York. It is also testimony to the international repute and intellectual dynamism of all the historians working in the Centre for Global Health Histories”.
The Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Health Histories, Professor Sanjoy Bhattacharya commented: "We have greatly enjoyed collaborating with colleagues at the WHO Regional Office for Europe in Copenhagen and the WHO Headquarters in Geneva, and are very grateful for the generous support received from across the WHO. We are also delighted with the shared view that the achievements and successes of the first four years have paved the way for WHO Collaborating Centre renewal and a further four years of joint action. We, at the University of York, remain deeply committed to assisting in the promotion of universal access to health, and especially efforts to serve of those most in need."
Find out more about the work of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Health Histories