HIFA Newsletter June 2022

27 June, 2022

Dear friends and supporters of HIFA,

Thank you so much for your generous support during 2021 and the first months of 2022. I would like to update you on what we have achieved and invite you to continue your support in 2022. Also, I would like to introduce you to the HIFA Strategy 2022-2024, which aims to expand significantly our work with the World Health Organization.

Thanks to your support, HIFA now has more than 15 years of solid achievements, a growing and dynamic membership of more than 20,000 professionals in 180 countries interacting 24/7 in 4 languages (English, French, Portuguese, Spanish), more than 400 volunteers, 437 supporting organisations, and a growing portfolio of sponsored thematic discussions on global health priorities.
 

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vital importance of access to reliable healthcare information. Never before has everyone been so aware of the need for reliable healthcare information, and yet so vulnerable to misinformation.

In 2021:

  • HIFA supported two series of thematic discussions sponsored by WHO: Maintaining essential health services during COVID-19, and Learning for quality health services, resulting in a series of publications on the WHO website.
  •  HIFA supported thematic discussions on COVID-19 information and misinformation, with more than a thousand contributions from HIFA members worldwide, sponsored by the Global Health Academy at the University of Edinburgh.
  • HIFA led a panel session at the World  Library and Information Congress, with a call to action for health information and library professionals worldwide to join us to accelerate progress towards reliable healthcare information for all.
  • HIFA launched its new Strategy  2022-2024: Accelerating progress towards universal access to reliable healthcare information.

See our Annual Review 2021 here: https://www.hifa.org/sites/default/files/other_publications_uploads/HIFA-Annual-review-2021-Final.pdf

OFFICIAL RELATIONS WITH THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION!

In January 2022 the World Health Organization approved our application to become a non-state actor in official relations. This is an amazing recognition of the value of our work, and places us alongside Médecins Sans Frontières, Oxfam, International Council of Nurses and World Vision International.

There is so much more that we could be doing but we are limited by our capacity and funding. HIFA continues to have only one professional staff (Neil Pakenham-Walsh), based at the Corner House, Charlbury. We urgently need more funding to increase our capacity and thereby increase our impact.

More specifically, implementation of the HIFA Strategy is costed at £140,000 per year but our current income is only £40,000 per year. We therefore need to triple our income, and we appeal for your help.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
If you are already giving a monthly payment to HIFA or a one-off donation,  thank you so much for your generosity. These monthly donations represent a very substantial and vital part of our income.

If you would like to support HIFA with a monthly donation or a one-off donation, please contact me: neil@hifa.org and I can guide you on next steps.

Or you can make a one-off donation by direct bank transfer to: Healthcare Information For All (HIFA), Co-operative Bank, UK, Sort code: 08-92-99, Account number: 65873036

Thank you for your support,

Neil Pakenham-Walsh, HIFA Global Coordinator