Global Doctors is an NGO working within Global Health. We work for Universal Health Coverage: That every human being should have access to adequate healthcare.
The focus of our work is to help ensure functioning health systems and skilled health workers, by a combination of advocacy work and capacity development jointly with local partners in developing countries. We believe that a horizontal and broad approach with a strong local involvement is more sustainable and efficient in the long run.
Global Doctors works on influencing politics of health and development putting Global Health on the agenda. Along with this we take part of capacity development projects jointly with local partners. We focus on low-income countries and vulnerable groups.
Global Doctors was founded in 2008 in Denmark. Our approach is multidisciplinary, and we welcome everyone with an interest in Global Health to join us.
GD wants to emphasize that health workers constitute one of the main pillars of any health system – exerting great influence on the organisation, delivery and quality of health services, and in the long run on health outcomes. The global lack of health workers, together with regional, national and local inequalities in access to health services and trained health personnel, constitutes a significant barrier for every human being’s right to and possibilities of living a healthy life and fulfilling their potential.
GD is especially dedicated to voicing the case of vulnerable groups. In our work we focus on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), i.e. that everybody has access to health services and skilled health personnel. An example of a significant factor influencing UHC is health worker migration and brain drain. Sustainable HR strategies and incentive structures are necessary to avoid the social imbalance resulting from skilled health personnel moving from countryside to cities or from poor to affluent countries taking their knowledge and resources with them. As it is a human right to fulfil one’s potential, health personnel should not be barred from moving. Rather, GD focuses on the factors that drive health workers to migrate. Impacting health worker migration, and other factors which influence UHC, calls not only for local initiatives, but indeed also for international coordination.
GD regards a holistic, horizontal approach to health and illness as well as to treatment and prevention as necessary in order to ensure access to health services for all. Due to population growth, demographic and
nutritional transitions, increased urbanisation etc. the global health situation is changing. Many countries now face a double burden of infectious and non-infectious chronic illnesses. This adds increasing demands and pressure on the delivery of health services, continuity in treatment, as well as the composition of the health workforce. GD therefore focuses on health systems, health workers, and underlying structures, rather than on vertical and disease-specific programmes.
Gloria Cordoba, M.D., MPH, PhD. I work in Global doctors to promote the Strengthening of primary health care as the cornerstone for achieving an equitable and high quality universal Health Care coverage.
Jacob Hejmdal Gren, M.D., member since the founding of Global Doctors in 2008. Former president of Global Doctors, and even earlier also secretary general. In the early years also an active member of the Rwanda project. During medical studies an active member of the International Medical Cooperation Committee (IMCC)…
Sophie Lauridsen, former president of Global Doctors. Active in the Zambia and the communication groups. In her work life she is a research assistant at Rigshospitalet, working a project looking at co-morbidities for people with HIV. She is active in global doctors because she believes that health system development…
Sofie Kathrine Topp, M.D. with an interest in infectious diseases, tropical medicine, child- and global health. International practical experience from Uganda and Greenland. Currently working as a clinician at the Department of Pediatrics at Nordsjaellands University Hospital, Denmark. Active in research concerning antibiotic resistance in the Arctic. Member of…
Helle Lauridsen, information professional and webmaster with a strong interest in sub-Saharan region especially Zambia where I have lived and worked.