An international coalition of global health organisations, led by the University of Adelaide’s JBI, has launched a new campaign calling for urgent action to advance global health equity.
The Evidence and Global Equity campaign, launched ahead of World Evidence-Based Healthcare Day, aims to spotlight how the latest healthcare practices backed by research can be accessed and implemented by communities everywhere.
The Chair of World Evidence-Based Healthcare Day, Bianca Pilla, said access to healthcare that is evidence-based is the key to better patient outcomes.
“This campaign is a call to action to take concrete steps towards equity-centred evidence-informed decision making,” said Mrs Pilla, who is also the Director of Global Relations at JBI.
“In 2023 we reached the mid-way point for the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and a global commitment to ‘leave no one behind’.
“However, the global crises of humanitarian disasters, climate change and health pandemics are all impeding progress and exacerbating global health inequities, highlighting the urgency to strengthen local and global evidence within the health sector to address societal challenges.”
To drive change, JBI has partnered with leading health organisations including Cochrane, Campbell, Guidelines International Network, the Institute for Evidence-Based Health Care, the Centre for Evidence-Based Health Care and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to form the coalition.
Part of the campaign also involves encouraging global health professionals to share their experiences with equity-centred evidence-based healthcare.
“Ultimately, better research leads to better outcomes and a brighter future, and we hope this campaign will help to make this a reality for all people, regardless of country, culture or customs.”Professor Zoe Jordan, JBI’s Executive Director
JBI’s Executive Director Professor Zoe Jordan said for healthcare practices to change for the better, it’s vital that all communities have access to the best available research to improve health policy and practice.
“Evidence is a prerequisite for achieving global health equity. Equitable health policies, systems and services all depend on the people involved in the use of evidence research working together to generate and apply this research, whether it be through the public, health workers, researchers, or policymakers”, said Professor Jordan.
“Ultimately, better research leads to better outcomes and a brighter future, and we hope this campaign will help to make this a reality for all people, regardless of country, culture or customs,” said Professor Jordan.
Campaign partners include Health Information for All (HIFA), E-Base Africa, International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), The George Institute for Global Health and University of Global Health Equity.
World Evidence-Based Healthcare Day is held on 20 October each year. This global initiative was founded by JBI and seeks to raise awareness of the need for better evidence to inform healthcare policy, practice and decision making in order to improve patient outcomes globally.
