Download the Spring 2022 ASPHER Newsletter here.

It is hard to believe it, but ASPHER office has been even busier than usual this spring! We hope it shows through in this packed edition of the newsletter. 

First off, we would like to remind you to save the dates for the ASPHER General Assembly (online) on Tuesday 7 May and the ASPHER Deans’ & Directors’ Retreat (hybrid: online and in Sofia, Bulgaria) on Friday and Saturday 14 & 15 October. We are very much looking forward to catching up with as many of you in person in Sofia as possible!

The ASPHER Covid-19 Task Force continues its work and recently came together for its 100th meeting. The group has shown exceptional dedication continuing on well past the time we imagined when it was first convened. Read about their most recent work, including reflections on two years of Covid-19 pandemic and the contributions of schools of public health and the public health workforce, including a thank you to everyone for your efforts. Also, please take note that the phase 3 survey of school reopening under Covid will close soon - be sure to answer by 15 May.

We have now also inaugurated an ASPHER Task Force on War. It will consider how SPHs can respond to the war in Ukraine in terms of scientific advice both in country and in neighboring countries as well as what and how to address war and public health issues in SPH curricula. ASPHER published an official statement on the war in Ukraine and the role of SPHs which is available in 14 languages – we encourage you to share it widely. The task force has also produced a statement regarding food security. A meeting on Public Health and the War is planned for 20 May in Gdansk and a webinar series with Bielefeld University on Public Health in Times of War will launch on 18 May. Contact ASPHER Secretariat if anyone from your institution would like to join either task force.

We have several fast approaching events with ASPHER partnering for the Kick Off event and Day 1 of European Public Health Week on Monday 16 May. ASPHER will be involved with events throughout the week including some featuring work on our SEEEPHI and VxTrain projects. We will be sending a dedicated e-mail with the full schedule of ASPHER events – keep an eye on your inbox and check back to aspher.org. 

We will also have 10 exceptional young researchers ready to present on 9 June for the Young Researchers Forum at the International Conference hosted by ASPHER member school Angela Boskin online and in Bled, Slovenia. More Young Professional happenings will be coming up with the ASSETS 2022 summer school session and YRF in person in Berlin at the EPH Conference. And of course much more is planned from ASPHER for EPH as we prepare for autumn’s live meetings!

ASPHER is also excited to see advancement on our public health professionalisation agenda and will soon kick off a professionalisation task force to move forward on work with the WHO Europe. Meanwhile, the agenda is moving up to the WHO headquarters level with plans to launch the Roadmap for strengthening the public health and emergency workforce on May 18 prior to the upcoming World Health Assembly. It is great to see the momentum pushing this agenda forward and elevating  ASPHER’s and our members’ position in the process.  

With the tremendous efforts of our ASPHER Fellows Rana Orhan and Tara Chen, the ASPHER led joint statement on climate and health launches on 5 May with 76 endorsements. We will be able to accept further endorsement (institutional only) until the end of May. Tara will also speak at the upcoming green track conference: Protecting nature and biodiversity to protect our health – The youth voice on 12 May.

The culmination of work from the UCCAIDE project has now been published by ECDC: Core competencies in applied infectious disease epidemiology in Europe: facilitating collaboration and the use of a common language among professionals. This will feed into the ASPHER competency agenda as we look ahead to revising the ASPHER core competences list.

And as always, don’t miss out on news and developments from ASPHER Members and Partners. Including some exciting opportunities! 

You can expect more updates to follow soon with another newsletter edition  prior to the General Assembly on 7 June.

All our best,

ASPHER Secretariat

Please don’t forget to share your news, publications, comments & suggestions with Lore at lore.leighton@aspher.org to be included in the next regular issue of the newsletter and on the ASPHER website activity log.