Health Advisory Service (HAS)

The Health Advisory Service (HAS) is an expert facility providing strategic support to the EU in the implementation of its policies and programmes in global health. The HAS works with colleagues in DG for International Cooperation and Development and EU Delegations to deliver the following key results:
The HAS core team gathers complementary experiences and skills in various areas related to development cooperation and global health. The HAS Core Team is under the stewardship of Leo Devillé (Project Director) and François Boillot (Team Leader), and it includes three public health experts - Allison Beattie, Alice Schmidt, and Diana Isabel Sotomayor. Alice Peschiutta (hera office) provides administrative support and supports the core team in coordination of HAS activities. Besides this in-house expertise, the HAS Core Team has access to a pool of over 1,000 experts that can be mobilised on a short-term basis as needed.

The HAS supports DG for International Cooperation and Development in the definition and implementation of EU policies and programmes related to global 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-focused country programmes, as well as more general guidance on engagement with selected partners.
Most of the HAS work is for internal EU use and therefore confidential. Some of the most recent publicly available HAS deliverables include:

  • Strengthening Education-Nutrition Links in External EU Assistance-An Evidence-based Planning Resource
  • Learning Support: Gender and Health Systems
  • Background Paper on Non-Communicable Diseases
The domains of expertise offered by HAS experts

The HAS is a consortium led by hera and includes AEDES, Alter and OPM. The HAS consortium was awarded a three-year contract to support the Health Team of the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development in May 2019. This follows an initial HAS contract that was implemented by hera between 2014 and early 2019.

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' goals towards inclusive and sustainable development.