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After 16 years, the European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health (ECTMIH) is returning to the Netherlands. In November 2023, the Netherlands Society for TMIH and its partners will host the 13th edition of this European Congress. The overarching theme will be PLANETARY HEALTH, which has grown in importance, as increasingly – and at an unprecedented pace – we are living the impact of our collective activities on human health and on the planet’s ecosystems. So the congress is more than timely, and we aim for a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of human health, climate change and disrupted ecosystems, and for proposed solutions to urgent problems. The congress intends to offer a platform for dissemination of new insights and for presenting interdisciplinary approaches to global health problems.

We invite researchers from all parts of the globe to present their latest research in all domains of global health, including infectious and tropical diseases and sexual and reproductive health and rights, to name a few. (see Box 2). We encourage participants to address underlying social, cultural and economic dimensions of health, and to build on the principles of universal access to health, equity and human rights. We will adopt a cross-cutting and interdisciplinary perspective to tackling health problems in the 21st century. The congress is planned for Monday to Thursday, 20 to 23 November 2023, and will be held at the contemporary music complex Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht.

Box 1: Shift in focus
The Amsterdam congress in 2007 was among the first to include the several dimensions of health in the programme, and actively support establishing partnerships and networking to improve health globally, as reflected in the title of the congress ‘Partnership and Innovation in Global He@lth’. This trend of widening the focus was also seen in the congresses that followed – such as the inclusion of an equity and human rights lens, and addressing the consequences of migration on health, among others in the congresses in Verona (2009), Barcelona (2011), and Bergen (2021). The 10th edition in Antwerp (2017; ‘Health in (r)evolution. Environment – migration – technology – empowerment’) specifically aimed to “provide a forum for reflection on the role and position of tropical medicine, global health and international cooperation in the 21st century, taking into consideration disruptive changes such as human migration, environmental evolution, technological innovation and political power shifts.”
Box 2: Programme focus and tracks
With the 2023 congress, we emphasise the importance of health equity and universal health coverage to ensure that all populations – and especially those in low(er) resource settings – have optimal chances of health and wellbeing. As such, we expect ECTMIH 2023 to catalyse the transition and change we need for equitable, just, and sustainable societies. We will build on global health traditions to emphasize the importance of health equity and universal health coverage to ensure that all populations – and especially those in low(er) resource settings – have optimal chances of health and wellbeing. With this in mind, ECTMIH2023 will:
act as a catalyst in the transition and change we need to achieve equitable, just, and sustainable societies
encourage the active participation of researchers from low- and middle-income countries, global thinkers, policy and decision makers
stimulate debate on the role of cooperation agencies and of scientific institutes in all areas of global health
The tracks and cross-cutting topics:
Planetary health and health systems;
Infectious Disease and Neglected Tropical Diseases;
Non-communicable Diseases;
Mental Health;
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights;
Child and Adolescent Health.
Cross cutting topics in each of the tracks are (a) Prevention, diagnoses, treatment and care; (b) Public health, community health, primary care, inpatient care; (c) Universal health coverage and health equity; and (d) Health policy.

Box 3: Delegate profiles
We encourage the active participation of researchers, global thinkers, and policy and decision makers in the programme, and the inclusion of debates on the role of cooperation agencies and of scientific institutes in the field of global health. Although ECMTIH is a European congress, delegates from all over the world, in particular from LMICs, are invited to contribute and/or to participate. A disparate mix of international health professionals and researchers, from the various branches active in global health, both in the North and South, will gather at this congress:
Academia: researchers and undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral students
Professionals in the healthcare system: health specialists, physicians, nurses and other health workers, global health experts
Professionals from governmental agencies: health ministries, regulatory bodies, health departments; and from non-governmental organisations
Representatives from private research & development organisations

Invitation to participate

We invite the NVTG Working Groups and others interested in planetary and global health to mark the date, and engage with us over the next months in the shaping of the congress. The call for proposals for organised sessions in any of the six tracks is open from 15th of November 2022 until 31 January 2023, and the call for proposals to submit abstracts will open on 1 February 2023. On our website (https://www.ectmih2023.nl) you will find regular updates on the programme, enabling you to become part of the global and planetary health network.

Box 4: Organising parties: umcu, festmih, nvtg, kcgh
The congress is organised by the European and Dutch Societies for Global Health and Tropical Medicine (FESTMIH, NVTG), the Knowledge Center Global Health (KCGH), and the University Medical Center Utrecht.
UMC Utrecht: a leading international university medical centre generating, testing, sharing, and applying knowledge on health, illness, and health care for the benefit of patients and society. With approximately 12,000 employees, the University Medical Center Utrecht is one of the largest public health care institutions in the Netherlands and the largest employer in the region. Physicians, researchers, and graduate students work together to find solutions for a wide range of major medical issues. UMC Utrecht aims to play a major role on the international research stage and to play a leading role in research and innovation.
FESTMIH, the Federation of Societies for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, is a European network promoting research and training in tropical medicine and global health, aiming to connect civil society, research and medical institutions to develop strong alliances and policies on Global Health. The network was founded in 1994 in the build-up to the first European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health in Hamburg one year later. FESTMIH’s mission is to improve the health status of people worldwide by establishing partnerships and mobilising professionals and by promoting and disseminating research in global health and tropical medicine. Activities of the network include: the organisation of European Congresses (since 1995 we co-organised twelve ECTMIHs throughout Europe) and of other scientific meetings at European and international congresses; the publication of the Journal Tropical Medicine and International Health; liaising with European schools of global health and tropical medicine; and advocating for universal access to health and equity in health. Meet the network and our members on the FESTMIH website (www.festmih.eu).
NVTG, the Netherlands Society for Tropical Medicine and International Health, founded in 1907 – brings together global health professionals and students. Strategic goals of the NVTG are networking, education, science and advocacy for improved health globally and universal access to health. The backbone of the NVTG is its working groups, who combine active collaboration with partners globally with scientific research and networking in all domains of global health. Through our annual conference, global health film festival, and our journal, we provide space for connection and collaboration on topical issues in global health. In addition, we realise our mission through the promotion and support of scientific research and dissemination of knowledge in all thematic areas of global health. Since the 1960s, the NVTG, through its sister organisation OIGT, offers a comprehensive post-graduate training programme for MDs (MD Global Health and Tropical Medicine), and supports vocational training. In collaboration with our partners, we advocate among policy makers and the public for social justice & health equity and universal health. Read more on the NVTG website (www.nvtg.org).
KCGH: Global health is about improving health and reducing health inequalities for all people worldwide, through education, research and practice. The Knowledge Center Global Health (KCGH) supports knowledge exchange in the field of global health. We do this by connecting healthcare and global health professionals, making global health knowledge more accessible, learning from it, and thereby promoting its application in Dutch healthcare. KCGH connect experts, organizations and healthcare providers around current themes in global health, with a focus on planetary health and health equity in the coming years. We are also committed to bringing global health issues to the attention of a wider audience. See KCGH website (www.kcgh.nl).

Meet the ECTMIH2023 team on www.ectmih2023.nl/pages/committees