Founded in 2006

IMIA Representative
Neil Pakenham-Walsh
HIFA Global Coordinator

 

 

Website : Steering Group 

 

HIFA is a global health network with more than 20,000 members (health workers, librarians, publishers, researchers, policymakers…) committed to the progressive realisation of a world where every person has access to the healthcare information they need to protect their own health and the health of others.

HIFA members have a vast and unique experience and expertise which they can use to bring clarity to challenging questions around global health issues in general and healthcare information issues in particular.

One-third of members are based in Africa, one-third in Europe, and one-third in the rest of the world. HIFA members represent more than 2500 organisations across 178 countries worldwide, and interact on five HIFA Forums in three languages (English, French, Portuguese – Spanish soon). Join here (free).

HIFA was launched in Mombasa, Kenya in October 2006, at the 10th Congress of the Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa. In 2004 the World Health Organization had commissioned a global review on access to healthcare information, leading to a paper in The Lancet by Fiona Godlee et al: ‘Can we achieve health information for all by 2015?’. The authors called for all stakeholders to work together to improve the availability and use of healthcare information. The HIFA campaign is a direct response to that challenge.

HIFA is administered by the Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based non-profit in official relations with the World Health Organization since 2022.