WHO has designated the Clinical Epidemiology and Research Center (CERC), Department of Biomedical Sciences at Humanitas University in Milan, Italy, as a new WHO collaborating centre. CERC will support WHO/Europe’s efforts to promote decision-making based on science and evidence, which ultimately helps to improve people’s health outcomes.
WHO collaborating centres carry out activities in support of WHO’s programmes in all areas of public health. By relying on robust evidence, this new centre will ensure that decision-makers can address health challenges more effectively, reducing health inequities and building trust in health-care interventions, while improving the allocation of resources and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of health systems.
The new collaborating centre will:
- support WHO capacity-building towards trustworthy and efficient guideline development, contextualization and implementation in an integrated manner within the ecosystem of health decision-making; and
- assist WHO in improving awareness and culture of evidence-based decision-making on the country level.
“Our partnership with CERC reflects WHO/Europe’s deep commitment to using the best available science to improve people’s lives,” said Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, Director of Country Health Policies and Systems at WHO/Europe. “Collaborating centres like CERC help us to turn data into action, so that public health policies don’t just stay on paper, but lead to healthier communities, stronger systems and better outcomes for the nearly 1 billion people living in our Region.”
“Evidence-based decision-making is essential in health because it ensures that policies, guidelines and interventions are grounded in the best available scientific research. This new collaboration will enhance our ability to support countries with the tools and knowledge needed to make informed choices that improve health outcomes for everyone,” said Dr Marge Reinap, Technical Officer on Evidence for Policy Development at WHO/Europe.
CERC Director Holger Schünemann added, “CERC and WHO share the same regard for science-based health decisions. Countries should be able to use the best possible evidence to drive health-care decisions and we look forward to advancing this important work as the new WHO collaborating centre.”
Professor Luigi Maria Terracciano, Rector of Humanitas University, described CERC’s new role as “a recognition of our commitment to advancing evidence-based policies and practices in local, national and global health.”
“This partnership with WHO will enable us to contribute to the strengthening of health systems by supporting the development, contextualization and implementation of health technology assessment and trustworthy health guidelines. We look forward to collaborating with WHO and health decision-makers worldwide to drive impactful and sustainable improvements in health-care delivery,” he added.