UniversitätsKlinikum Heidelberg On the occasion of our 50th jubilee Heidelberg Institute of Public Health Who we are demonstrated by our work in 2010/2011 Welcome Welcome to our institute, it’s staff, students and institute as the hub. The grant also provided The master level training program was partners worldwide. The Heidelberg Institute two chairs, one in parasitology and one in expanded, modularized and integrated of Public Health (HIPH) celebrates its 50th tropical hygiene and public health along into the European teaching network tropEd. jubilee anniversary this year. As the biennial with two young research groups. It now consists of a base module of three report covers only the period of 2010/11, let months and fourteen short courses from me take this opportunity to briefly sketch In 1997, Rainer Sauerborn was hired from human rights to climate change and health. our history. Harvard University to become his succes- These short courses can be selected as sor. Under his leadership, the institute was stand-alone units or as part of a master’s Founded in 1962 by my predecessor Helmut awarded a "Special Research Center (SFB): degree both at University of Heidelberg or Jusatz as the "health wing" of the South Asia Control of Tropical Infectious Diseases" any of the other 29 tropEd teaching institu- Institute of the University of Heidelberg, it funded by the German Research Foundation tions across Europe. had a focus on medical geography. Hans (DFG). It was in a way an extension and Jochen Diesfeld who followed Jusatz in 1978 intensification of the previous research We have founded a consultancy group brought his expertise in tropical medicine focus. It included the research groups from EVAluation & PLANning (EVAPLAN), which and his interest in public health in low- the European Molecular Biology Lab (EMBL), is quite successful in running both large income countries to the table and renamed and the German Cancer Research Center implementation projects for various bi- and the institute as "Department of Tropical (DKFZ), both situated in Heidelberg. After multilateral donors, and individual consul- Hygiene and Public Health". In 1990, he three successful three-year evaluations, the ting mission both to governments and to aid set up the first non-consecutive Master of SFB concluded in 2011. organizations. Science in a medical field in Germany. Until today, it has remained with many improve- In formal teaching, Heiko Becher, epidemio- Research expanded on an ever improving ments and additions, our flagship offer in logist and deputy of the institute, set up a track record of acquiring research grants postgraduate training. doctoral school in epidemiology in 2002, from the European Union, the DFG, the again with the institute as the hub of a uni- Volkswagenstiftung, the Humboldt Founda- A large federally funded research focus on versity-wide cooperation which included also tion, the French Climate Research Program, tropical medicine brought the natural (bio- the German Cancer Research Center. An in- the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and chemistry, molecular biology) and clinical ternational doctoral school (Graduiertenkol- several private international foundations. (paediatrics) sciences of the university, leg) in global health, coordinated by Rainer A grant proposal to the Gates foundation clinicians and public health specialists Sauerborn, is currently set up. In this joint has been recently submitted with the IND- together and paved the foundation of a doctoral programme the Karolinska Institute EPTH network. long-term interdisciplinary cooperation (Stockholm) and Umeå University in Sweden around the topic of tropical medicine join the institute to establish an international and public health in Heidelberg, with the PhD programme in global health. 4 The institute is well connected in professio- Mission nal networks in Europe, Africa and Asia with To contribute to improved health in a number of "preferred partners", they are populations through research and elaborated on from page 92 onwards. teaching, both at home and in low- and middle-income countries. In the 50 years of its existence, the institute has contributed to the various paradigm Vision shifts from tropical medicine, as a sub-spe- As an academic institution, be at the fore- cialty of diseases specific to the tropics, to front of public health research through "tropical hygiene", seen as a public health fair and equitable partnerships across focus on these countries looking particu- the globe. larly at prevention and classical hygiene. The next paradigm arising in the 80's was Values "international health", referring to health Excellence. Respect. Integrity. and health care in low- and middle-income Equitable partnerships. countries. We live currently in the era of "global health", which deals with diseases, risk factors, health relevant behaviours, and policies going beyond national borders, and requiring the coordinated effort of policy, science and communities. Rainer Sauerborn Chair and Director 5 6 "Only when we know where we are coming from, can we decide where we want to go" 7 8 The Heidelberg Institute of Public Health Thematic Groups The Collaborative Research Centre (SFB 544) Teaching Service and Consulting International Collaborations National Collaborations Funding Institute’s Life 9 10 The Heidelberg Institute of Public Health sociologists, mathematicians, geographers, Who we are management specialists, and biologists work closely together with public health and clinical physicians. Our staff is working within seven thematic units: 1. Epidemiology and biostatistics, including maternal and child health epidemiology The Institute of Public Health (former Our mission is to contribute to the improve- and non-communicable diseases and Department of Tropical Hygiene and Public ment of health through research, teaching aging populations Health) was founded in 1962 and has stea- and direct services (consulting) in low- and 2. Disease control in disadvantaged dily grown since. It is part of the medical middle-income countries and at home. To populations faculty of the University of Heidelberg and fulfil this mission, we attach great impor- 3. Climate change and health receives public core funding. However, over tance to linking our activities in two ways: 4. Reproductive health and HIV/AIDS half of the funds are competitively acquired on the one hand, we want to make sure that 5. International health economics and for both research and teaching activities. our staff teaches, evaluates development financing projects in the health sector of low- and 6. Global health policy and health systems The institute currently boasts a staff of middle-income countries and participates in 7. Health service and quality management about 60 from over 30 countries and inclu- research so that their insight and experi- des the chair, one additional full professor ence from different activities are enhancing Each unit develops their core area integ- (C3), five assistant professors (scientists each other. As an example, research results rating research, teaching and service. In with ‘habilitation’), one Mercator professor, are fed immediately into lectures; and addition, we have a teaching unit to coor- research associates, support staff and a insights from policy evaluation help us in dinate and support the institute’s teaching varying number of visiting scholars, post- the design of our own research projects. On activities. The management support staff doctoral fellows and doctoral students. the other hand, we seek to look at health coordinate administrative and financial and health systems from an international tasks. perspective, linking experience in the North and South. An executive board comprised of the unit heads and the head of the administrative An example is our study of different ways support is chaired by the director and is res- to organize health insurance, spanning ponsible for strategy and decision-making. from our own Bismarckian social security to community-based insurance in Burkina www.ukl-hd.de/PH Faso. A third linkage we cherish at the institute is the linkage between the different disciplines. Health economists, epidemio- logists, anthropologists, political scientists, 12 International Health Health Services and Economics and Financing Quality Management Disease Control Reproductive Health in Disadvantaged Populations and HIV/AIDS Executive Board Teaching Unit Administrative Support Climate Change Global Health Policy and Health and Health Systems Epidemiology and Biostatistics Maternal and Non-communicable Diseases Child Health Epidemiology and Aging Populations 13 The Institute as a Hub The Heidelberg Initiative for Global Health (HIGH) In recent years, many countries have and future think tank for all global public upgraded their research and management health related activities at the University of capacity in global health. In Germany, this Heidelberg and its associated institutions process is still in an early stage. The Uni- and partners locally, nationally and inter- versity of Heidelberg has established itself nationally. This new initiative was planned as a centre of excellence in a wide range of and developed in 2011 and launched in relevant disciplines (e.g. life sciences, poli- 2012 and covers life sciences, clinical tical sciences, geo sciences, international medicine, public health, anthropology, law, development studies), and can draw environmental sciences, law and econo- on expertise from eminent collaborating mics. It pursues