Berlin, Germany | October 21^st - 24^th, 2012

The M8 Alliance

It is the M8's vision to harness academic excellence to improve global health.

The “M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centers, and Medical Universities” is a collaboration of academic institutions of educational and research excellence that recognizes responsibility to improve global health and works with political and economic decision makers and civil society to develop science-based solutions for health challenges worldwide. This international network gives the World Health Summit an outstanding academic background. The M8 Alliance acts as a permanent platform for framing future considerations of global medical developments and health challenges. The M8 Alliance promotes the translation of research progress from the laboratory to the bedside and to populations, the transformation of our present medical care systems treating sick people to a true “health care system” with effective prevention of diseases and the transition of health-related solutions and adaptions in our rapidly changing living conditions, including demographic changes, urbanization, and climate change as priority areas of research. It is the M8's vision to harness academic excellence to improve health worldwide.

M8 Alliance Meeting

The M8 Alliance defines targets for the World Health Summit 2011

David de Kretser, Steve Wesselingh, Detlev Ganten (from the left)

The M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centres and Medical Universities met in Melbourne in March 2011 to prepare the third World Health Summit. Prof. David de Kretser, the Governor of the State of Victoria, and Prof. Steve Wesselingh, Dean of Monash University, Australia, hosted the meeting. Future projects of the M8 Alliance and the program of this year’s World Health Summit were the main topics discussed by the deans and other delegates from the M8 institutions. The third World Health Summit will take place in Berlin at the Langenbeck-Virchow-Haus, October 23rd-26th October 2011. This year’s theme is: “Today’s Science – Tomorrow’s Agenda” – linking scientific and other evidence to shape tomorrow’s agenda in the field of global health. During their meeting, the M8 members set the agenda for the summit. Main topics will include vaccination and immunisation, mother’s and children´s health, non-communicable diseases, development of incentives for medical and pharmacological developments and climate change and health. Given the recent events in Japan, and following a suggestion of the M8 Alliance member, Kyoto University, a special session on “Health Prevention and Medical Responses after Mega Disasters” will be included into the program.

New M8 Members

The M8 Alliance welcomes South-East-Asia and South America

Sao Paulo University and National University of Singapore are the newest members of the M8 Alliance. Prof. Eduardo Krieger from Sao Paulo University and Prof. John Wong, the dean of NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, were very pleased to accept the invitation by the M8 Alliance which now consists of members from five continents.

The University of Sao Paulo is the largest and one of the most prestigious research and higher education institutions in Brazil. With almost 90 000 students it is one of the largest universities in South America and It is composed of seven campuses, 40 research and learning units, five hospitals, five specialized institutes, laboratories and multiple scientific and cultural centers. The M8 Alliance is particularly delighted to welcome “Universidade de Sao Paulo” and extend the Alliance to Latin America.

In the previous meeting during the 2^nd World Health Summit in October, the National University of Singapore was included into the M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centers and Medical Universities. Prof. John Wong, the dean of NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, gladly accepted the invitation. NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine is one of the most important Academic Health Centres in South-East Asia. The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine was the first academic body in Singapore's history dedicated to tertiary education. Established in 1905, it is the foundation of what has now evolved into the National University of Singapore.

The School is a strong component in the University's Mission to advance knowledge and foster innovation, educate students and nurture talent in service of Singapore and society.

It is continually working toward its vision of being among the world’s leading medical schools. The main course of action lies in strengthening its clinical research work and linking it closely with the education of medical students and the clinical care of patients.

M8 Alliance Treaty Preamble

(...) Health and personal well-being are of highest importance, not only for the individual, but also for society as a whole. Much has been achieved by the medical advances of the last century. Whilst recent discoveries promise to bear the potential for even greater improvements in health care, the new Millenium also poses new challenges for the standard of health world wide. The rising cost of health care, together with demographic changes, require a conscious effort to improve medicine, whilst keeping it affordable. Health is a basic human right; it has to be ensured that it is delivered.

Only a global effort can succeed in tackling this global challenge. The M8 Alliance, an Alliance of Excellence, is set up as an international network of prestigious medical faculties to further this process. Medicine and the Life Sciences have to be firmly established on the political and social agenda. The first step towards this goal will be increased exchange between the members of the M8 Alliance and co-operation in the realms of research, education, health care and the organization of the World Health Summit.

The M8 Alliance will closely co-operate with other bodies such as the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC) and the Inter-Academy Medical Panel (IAMP) to increase the leverage of academic medicine to improve health together with stakeholders on the national and international level.

The World Health Summit will be the central platform of the M8 Alliance. It will be held annually. The first World Health Summit in October 2009 will mark the formal inauguration of the M8 Alliance.(...)

M8 Members

Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,USA
Sorbonne Paris Cité, France
InterAcademy Medical Panel (IAMP)
NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Singapore
Monash University of Melbourne, Australia
Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Russian Federation
Peking Union Medical College and Hospital and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences China
Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
Imperial College London, United Kingdom
University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
International Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC)

M8 Members