From 24 September to 26 November 2025, the OIGT in collaboration with KCGH and UMC Utrecht organised the Global Health Rounds Masterclass on Health Systems, a nine-part online masterclass series that focused on health systems as determinants of health. The weekly sessions brought participants together over nine weeks to reflect on how health systems function in diverse contexts and how they can be strengthened.
The masterclass approached health systems from the premise that they do not stand alone, but are closely intertwined with other sectors of society. The WHO health systems building blocks framework provided an analytical basis, while the sessions explicitly allowed for context-specific insights at local, national and international levels. The series thus provided a bridge between theory, policy and practice.
During the masterclass, Dutch and international experts provided contributions from various disciplines, including medicine, economics, social sciences, epidemiology and engineering. The speakers were:
- Dr Noor Tromp (Royal Tropical Institute - KIT), who opened the series with a conceptual exploration of what we mean by a health system.
- Dr Saba Hinrich-Krapels (TU Delft), who addressed health innovation, implementation and scale-up.
- Dr Robert Borst (Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam), with a session on knowledge translation in global health.
- Prof Rob Baltussen (Radboudumc), who discussed prioritisation in global health from economic, ethical and practical perspectives.
- Prof Dr Joyce Browne (UMC Utrecht) and Koiwah Koi-Larbi (CEO, Action on Preeclampsia Ghana), who jointly reflected on equal and transdisciplinary partnerships in global health.
- Dr Tienke Vermeiden (Leiden University Medical Center), who addressed intersectionality and its relevance to health systems.
These multidisciplinary contributions revealed how diverse perspectives contribute to improving system performance and promoting equitable care. Throughout the series, there was room for discussion and exchange between participants and speakers, with a specific focus on collaboration between policymakers, healthcare providers, researchers, patients and communities.
By the end of the master class, participants were better equipped to analyse health systems using the WHO framework, integrate multidisciplinary perspectives and critically reflect on system change in different contexts.
You can watch the webinars individually (for free) on the KCGH's digital learning environment.
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