The Oxford Health Alliance
The Oxford Health Alliance (OxHA) was founded by Novo Nordisk and the University of Oxford in 2003 and is dedicated to the prevention and reduction of the global impact of chronic disease. According to the World Health Organization, chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, lung disease and some cancers account for 60% of deaths globally and are linked to three common risk factors – tobacco use, lack of physical activity and poor diet. The Oxford Health Alliance enables experts and activists from different backgrounds to collaborate in order to raise awareness and change behaviours, policies and perspectives at every level of society.
Grand Challenges
In 2007, the OxHA was among a global alliance of public health experts that published the Grand Challenges in Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases - an authoritative list of the 20 most important challenges today to restraining and reversing the toll of these debilitating and costly diseases. OxHA co-funded the report, published in Nature in November 2007. The Grand Challenges include implementing measures to discourage smoking, alcohol consumption and unhealthy foods; mitigating the negative impacts of poverty and urbanisation on health; and moving health systems towards prevention rather than cure.
The Grand Challenges in Chronic Non-communicable Diseases will be of great value for the future prevention and management of CNCDs by informing people and organisations involved in implementing health-related interventions and those funding health-related research. Read more here.
Community Interventions for Health
Community Interventions for Health, CIH, is another OxHA initiative which will examine how various types of community-wide interventions can affect the health of people over a three year period. The pilot study, to begin early 2008, will include sites in China, Mexico, India and the UK.
Some two million people in the targeted communities will be directly affected by the programme. The research programme will make many policy changes in the communities, including:
- smoke-free hospitals with healthy food options
- increased physical activity for students and employees
- healthy food choices at local establishments and at events
- smoke-cessation programmes at workplaces
- safe routes for walking and bicycling
- advertisement-free schools.
Results of these and other interventions will be analysed to see what works and what doesn’t work in chronic disease prevention. It is the first time such comprehensive interventions will be undertaken and then evaluated across a number of different countries. The project is funded by a $5.2 million grant from the PepsiCo Foundation.
3FOUR50
OxHA has launched a website, www.3four50.com, aimed to harness the social networking power of the internet to promote chronic disease prevention. 3FOUR50 unites activists and enthusiasts committed to preventing the epidemic of chronic disease and raising awareness about its devastating consequences. It provides a platform for members to showcase their work and work together on new projects, and highlights best practice in the area of prevention. Key features are the Network channel that allows members to contact one another, weekly news videos, blogs, photos and interviews.
Fit City
As part of its activities to engage young people in the issues around chronic disease prevention, OxHA launched the Fit City competition, an international competition for young people designed to provoke thought and discussion about the impact that urban environments have on our health. Young people, aged 18-27, were asked to submit their ideas or examples demonstrating aspects of healthy (or unhealthy) urban environments or urban design. Submissions included photos, videos, artwork, poems, plays, documents and sounds.
Overall, more than 200 entries were submitted from 42 countries across the world. Some countries included: Serbia and Montenegro, China, Kenya, Canada, Greece, Uganda and Cambodia.
Five winners will be given an all-expenses paid trip to Sydney to participate in the next OxHA Summit.
About OxHA
Raising awareness, changing behaviour and reorienting health systems to meet the challenge of chronic disease prevention is a huge undertaking that involves diverse stakeholders throughout society. The Oxford Health Alliance enables experts and activists from different backgrounds to collaborate to raise awareness and change behaviours, policies and perspectives at every level of society.
In 2004 Novo Nordisk, which is represented on the OxHA Board of Trustees, committed 3 million British pounds over three years to support the initiative. OxHA is now an independent UK charity with a secretariat located in London.
The organisation numbers more than 200 participants, including representatives from government, public health agencies, universities, corporations, non-governmental organisations such as the World Heart Federation, international organisations such as the World Bank and the World Health Organization, patients' rights advocates, doctors and nurses.
OxHA focuses its work on six key areas:
1. the economic argument for prevention of chronic disease
2. prevention in the workplace
3. youth, children and future health
4. environmental design for prevention (eg urban planning, building design)
5. industry’s role
6. the interaction between law and health policy in modifying chronic disease determinants.
Each year, OxHA convenes its members at annual summits to generate ideas, provoke dialogue and stimulate effective action. The next summit is on the theme of ‘Building a healthy future: chronic disease and our environment’ and will be held in Sydney, Australia in February, 2008.
Why Novo Nordisk is involved
There are several reasons why Novo Nordisk founded and remains an active partner in the Oxford Health Alliance:
- Business goals: the OxHA increases awareness of diabetes (as well as other chronic diseases) and moves it higher up the public agenda, which will inevitably lead to more and better diabetes treatment, and hopefully increased use of Novo Nordisk's products.
- Company Vision: the company Vision is to defeat diabetes. This is only possible if the world finds better ways of preventing diabetes. OxHA addresses this directly.
- Partnership: Novo Nordisk recognises that it cannot defeat diabetes on its own and that, in fact, no single entity can accomplish that goal. Only by pooling resources and thinking will it be possible to identify and implement solutions that will have an impact. OxHA is a forum created to promote the broad multi-stakeholder coalition required to reach this goal.
- Stakeholder engagement: Novo Nordisk recognises that part of its success as a company is due to the dialogue and relations that the company has with people, who in one way or another shape public policy and opinion. Through OxHA, Novo Nordisk can meet with, learn from and create opportunities to work with people who will shape health policy during the next decade.
- Keeping abreast of trends: new ideas emerge when leading thinkers meet. Among these ideas are some that will lead to new ways of thinking about healthcare and the role of industry in healthcare and prevention. Novo Nordisk's involvement with OxHA is part of being among the first to know about new developments.
While a small organisation like the Oxford Health Alliance cannot solve the challenge of chronic disease prevention on its own, Novo Nordisk's experience with the World Diabetes Foundation shows that well-placed investments in stakeholder relations can have a significant impact on very large problems in a way that creates important opportunities and value for the business.
For more information, visit the OxHA’s website.
This page has been reviewed by PricewaterhouseCoopers as part of its assurance of Novo Nordisk’s non-financial reporting. Please refer to Audit and assurance for a full description of the conclusions and the nature of assurance offered.
