Highlights of the IANPHI Executive Board Meeting


An IANPHI Executive Board (EB) meeting took place via conference call on June 30, 2020. 

IANPHI President André van der Zande welcomed the EB members, IANPHI Secretariat Office staff, and guests of national public health institutes (NPHI) from Colombia’s National Health Institute, Public Health England, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The quorum to vote on the decisions was reached as seven out of 14 EB members were in attendance. Additional to the required formalities and different topics on the agenda for discussions, four issues were up for decision: 

1. Organization of the Annual Meeting 2020

A. van der Zande explained that due to the exceptional circumstances every country is going through, Brazil's NPHI Fiocruz has informed members that hosting a face to face meeting, in the premises of the institute, will unfortunately not be possible this year, and confirmed that Fiocruz is willing to host a face to face meeting in 2021. After consulting with its legal adviser, the IANPHI statutes permit, in exceptional circumstances, for an electronic meeting to take place to fulfill annual requirements. 

Decision: The Board agreed to postpone the initially planned face-to-face IANPHI Annual Meeting in 2021 and to organize a virtual General Assembly in December 2020, after holding elections electronically during the month of November.  

2. Mapping 2019 process and next steps

A. van der Zande informed the Board that discussions took place last month between the Secretariat and various IANPHI members regarding the development of a revised strategy for IANPHI and to identify the next steps regarding the 2019 member survey results.

Decision: The Board approved the implementation of the following next steps: 

  • Publish a summary analysis of the results in the IANPHI Insider newsletter
  • Publish an article in a recognized public health journal with the subject focusing on one aspect from the results of the member survey, particularly the WHO Collaborating Centers in NPHIs. 
  • Explore the creation of a digital space to share regularly updated characteristics of IANPHI members. 

3. IANPHI Recognition of Success Contest

A. van der Zande recalled the launch of a much-appreciated initiative at the 2019 IANPHI Annual Meeting in Addis Ababa: to highlight good practices or projects selected by IANPHI Regional Chairs among their networks. Due to the current circumstances, the current recommendation is to continue this initiative, but to exclude COVID-19-related activities and focus on non-infectious diseases. 

Decision: The Board agreed to organize the contest this year, electronically. The Chairs will be in charge of selecting one project to present to the General Assembly. 

4. Membership

Withdrawal from the Japanese Institute of Public Health

A. van der Zande informed the Board that the Japanese Institute of Public Health sent a request of withdrawal to the Secretariat. 

Decision: The Board agreed to send a letter thanking the Japanese institute for its historical and significant contribution to the network, inviting them to rejoin in the coming years.

Waiver request 

  • CARPHA – proposal for partnership

Following a membership fee waiver request from CARPHA, and taking into account the specific nature of the agency, it was suggested to offer the possibility to the agency to become a Partner, instead of a Member, the Partner status being the most adapted among the three different status offered by IANPHI (National, Associate Member and Partner).

Decision: The Board agreed to suggest to CARPHA to apply to partner status, to be then proposed to vote to the General Assembly at the end of the year.


This online version of the IANPHI Executive Board meeting report reflects actions taken at the most recent meeting of the IANPHI Executive Board and is provided for the convenience of IANPHI members. This online document is not the official, complete record of the actions of the IANPHI Executive Board, it is merely a summary of actions taken. The IANPHI Executive Board’s official minutes, in their entirety, are on file with the IANPHI Secretariat. Should you have any questions about this online summary of the agenda, actions taken, or the minutes of the meetings of the IANPHI Executive Board, please contact the IANPHI Secretariat at secretariat@ianphi.org. 

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