European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies

The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies is an intergovernmental partnership, hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, which specialises in the development of health systems within Europe. The partnership includes the Governments of Austria, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom; the Veneto Region of Italy; the French National Union of Health Insurance Funds (UNCAM); the World Health Organization; the European Commission; the World Bank; the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE); and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

The organization is dedicated to supporting evidence-based health policy-making through the analysis and dissemination of information on European health systems and by engaging directly with national policy-makers in order to promote health gain, solidarity, efficiency, quality, responsiveness, transparency and integrity. It utilises and compares experiences from across Europe to identify and highlight health issues with the intention of encouraging debate, while assisting European powers in taking evidence based decisions in order to tackle issues affecting public health. The Observatory is composed of a Steering Committee, core management team, research policy group and staff. Its Secretariat is based in Brussels and has offices in London (at LSE and LSHTM) and the Technical University of Berlin, bringing together a wide range of academics, policy-makers and practitioners to analyse trends in health policies and reforms.