Global Institute of Health and Medicine
The Global Institute of Health and Medicine serves as an information source for impartial and reliable scientific knowledge. It is transpositional, able to take a ‘view from everywhere.’ As independent and impartial institutions not dominated by financially or politically powerful entities, the GIHM and Global Health Council are two central institutions of SHG that complement each other in implementing the Global Health Constitution. The Institute’s scientific information and analysis supplement Council policymaking.
It is crucial to have independent and impartial institutions to implement the Global Health Constitution (more on the constitution here)). While SHG respects the GIHM’s scientific information and expertise, it differs from the technocratic model. Rather, the Council’s normative reasoning and public deliberation provide political legitimacy. SHG recognizes the essential roles of public engagement for procedural justice and epistemic values of scientific standards for evaluating deliberative outcomes.
The GIHM’s network of technical and scientific experts provides evidence and perspectives from national- and subnational-level institutions. Expertise in health, medicine, and related disciplines serves as criteria for selection in the network. As an independent organization, the GIHM provides authoritative and independent advice to state and local governments, as well as the World Health Organization (WHO), and directly to the World Health Assembly (the decision-making body of the WHO).