Professor Kickbusch’s key interests relate to the political determinants of health, health in all policies and global health. She established the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute and in this context advises countries on their global health strategies as well as trains health specialists and diplomats in global health diplomacy.
She is a member of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board and the WHO High-Level Independent Commission on NCDs. She is also Co-Chair of UHC2030 Steering Committee. She acts as Council Chair to the World Health Summit in Berlin. She has been involved in German G7 and G20 activities relating to global health and chairs the International Advisory Board for the development of the German global health strategy. She initiated the @wgh300 list of women leaders in global health. She is Program Chair of the leaders in health network SCIANA. She is co-chair of a Lancet FT Commission on “Governing Health Futures 2030: Growing Up In A Digital World.”
Professor Kickbusch has had a distinguished career with the World Health Organization. She was a key instigator of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and WHOs Healthy Cities Network and has remained a leader in this field, advising on the WHO activities related to Promoting Health in the SDGs. She was the Director of the Global Health Division at Yale University School of Public Health and responsible for the first major Fulbright Programme on Global Health. She has published widely, serves on various commissions and boards and has received many prizes and recognitions.
She was awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesverdienstkreuz) in recognition of her “invaluable contributions to innovation in governance for global health and global health diplomacy.”