ECTMIH continues to stimulate the active participation of researchers from LMICs, global thinkers, policy and decision makers in the programme, and to include debates on the role of cooperation agencies and of scientific institutes in the field of global health. Crosscutting themes at the congresses include diagnostic innovation, drug resistance and development, global research ethics and the role of social sciences in global health research.
The inaugural edition of the Congress took place in Hamburg in 1995. Since that time, the patron of the congress, the Federation of European Societies of Tropical Medicine and International Health has co-organised a further twelve editions including this very special 2023 presentation, which we are delighted to host here in Utrecht, in the Netherlands.
From tropical disease to global health
Over the last 15 years, successive Congress committees have repositioned the original core tropical medicine priorities within a wider context of cross-cutting global health issues and disciplines. This transition was first reflected in the 2007 Amsterdam 'Partnership and Innovation in Global Health' edition.
The Verona 2009 'Equity, Human Rights and Access to Care' edition, continued this trend, engaging a wider community in discussing human rights dynamics in global health, as did each edition that followed, including the Antwerp 2017 'Health in (r)evolution. Environment – migration – technology – empowerment' meeting which centred on providing 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.
With its most recent editions in Liverpool, UK in 2019, and Bergen, Norway in 2021, the number of participants has averaged 1,300-1,500 participants.