The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the Norwegian Directorate of Health (Hdir), have been chosen as co-leads for the evaluation of the EU Joint Action to Maximise the impact of the EU Global Health Strategy (JA GHI), a significant project funded by EU4Health running from 2023 to 2025. The aim of the JA GHI is to strengthen EU coordination efforts in the field of Global Health, all while maximizing the impact of the EU Global Health Strategy. With RKI’s experience in evaluations and Hdir’s experience in Joint Actions, this team has a great synergy for evaluating the JA GHI. Their role is to provide insights into the effectiveness of the JA GHI, fostering learning and guiding future improvements to strengthen global health mechanisms within the EU.

Highlights from the Evaluation So Far

General Assembly Meeting – October 2024, Rome, Italy

The colleagues Charbel El Bcheraoui (RKI), Nicole Egerström (RKI), Irene Olaussen (Hdir), and Pernille Venner Dehli (Hdir) attended the two-day General Assembly meeting with all members of the JA GHI where they presented progress, discussed challenges, and mapped the path forward. The JA GHI consists of a consortium of 39 institutions representing 24 European countries, and this pivotal event marked the end of the first year of the JA GHI. Stakeholders from the European Commission, including DG SANTE and HaDEA, as well as  Technopolis group which is a policy consultancy firm, joined us to provide valuable input, aligning efforts and ensuring collaboration across all levels.

Workshops to Drive Progress

RKI and Hdir convened three times since the start of the JA GHI. In-person workshops have been instrumental in building the evaluation framework:

• June 2024, Oslo, Norway: the team held a workshop to design the data collection plan, develop question for key informant interviews, and finalize the list of interviewees. This workshop set the foundation for collecting meaningful data throughout the summer months and the rest of the JA GHI.
• September 2024, Oslo, Norway: The colleagues from RKI and Hdir came together to analyze the data gathered from key informant interviews, desk reviews, and indicators’ monitoring. They also discussed strategies for disseminating findings to inform the JA GHI’s continued implementation.
• March 2024, Riga, Latvia: The team joined colleagues from other countries in Riga where they focused on supporting the competent authority from Latvia on identifying existing data sources on EU GH activities and funding.
• January 2024, Berlin, Germany: At the beginning of 2024, the team came together to design the methods for evaluating the JA GHI and to develop a logic model. This logic model is a tool for monitoring indicators of all tasks and objectives associated with the JA GHI.

 Key Insights from Year One

• The first year of the JA GHI has provided invaluable lessons on the challenges and opportunities of fostering collaboration across 24 countries.
• The initial outcomes from evaluation are already informing strategies to ensure that this JA GHI continues to strengthen Europe’s position as a cohesive global health actor.

The JA GHI represents an unparalleled opportunity to create a unified European approach to global health, and our team remains committed to providing robust evaluation and actionable insights to support this mission.

We are excited to continue working with all partners to ensure the JA GHI achieves its full potential.