In May 2019, a consortium led by hera and including AEDES, Alter and OPM, operating as a Health Advisory Service (HAS), was awarded a three-year contract to support the Health Team of the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO). The HAS provides strategic advice in support of the EU - at Headquarters and with its Delegations worldwide - in planning and implementing health cooperation.
As Leo Devillé, hera CEO observed, “Having just completed a successful four-year engagement with DG DEVCO on a first health advisory service, we believe that our renewed engagement with DG DEVCO confirms the quality of our work to date and the trust established with our EU counterparts. We look forward to this exciting opportunity.”
The previous engagement was set up under the guidance of two hera partners, Leo Devillé as Project Director and René Dubbeldam. René served as team leader between 2014 and mid- 2016, and François Boillot (Alter) from mid-2016 to its end in early 2019.
The new three-year engagement continues under the stewardship of Leo (Project Director) and François (Team Leader), and it includes three continuing public health experts - Allison Beattie, Giorgia Lattanzi (hera associate), and Alice Schmidt. Alice Peschiutta (hera office) serves as project officer.
The HAS reflects the commitment of hera and its consortium partners to the European values of human rights-based development and the rule of law. Its implementation also reflects its partners commitment to women’ empowerment and greener processes.
The overall objective of the HAS is “to support the EU in the implementation of its policies and programmes in health assistance and the adaptations and adjustments required under its related policies (in particular regarding, but not limited to, The European Consensus on Development, The Future of Budget Support, The EU Role in Global Health).”
The HAS works with colleagues from DG DEVCO and EU Delegations to deliver the following six results:
In line with the successful approach implemented to date, the HAS supports DG DEVCO in the definition and implementation of EU policies and programmes related to health through a number of services. These include the development of policy briefs and technical reports, appraisals of new trends in the field of global health and of key partnerships, contribution to knowledge management processes, and support to communication and visibility activities. In line with EU policies, EU Delegations typically receive support in the identification of SDG-focussed country programmes, as well as more general guidance on engagement with selected partners.
One of the key strengths of the HAS is having a core team that gathers complementary experiences. This further engagement will harvest the dividend of an established and trusted working relationship with EU counterparts. The HAS Core Team can also rely on the capacity of the Consortium to draw talent from a pool of over 1000 experts as needed.
We are proud to be supporting the EU at a time of global change, including the development of the new EU Multi-Annual Financial Framework, which will also define instruments for delivering EU development assistance to partner countries for the 2021-2027 period.
Map Source: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/countries-territories-and-regions-where-we-are-active_en
