The Directorate of Health
International cooperation
-Automatic translation
The Directorate of Health is involved in various international collaborations with international organizations and associations in the Nordic countries, Europe, and globally.
HSSD. Healthy Safe and Sustainable Diet.
NDN. Nordic Diet Network.
Nordic Network on Dietary Surveys.
NORMO. Nordic Monitoring of Diet, Physical Activity, Physique and Alcohol and Tobacco Use.
Nordic Network on Mental Health.
Nordic Tobacco Network.
Nordic Cooperation on Alcohol and Drug Prevention
NOMBIR. Nordic Medical Birth Register. The Directorate of Health participates in a Nordic collaboration of birth registers in the Nordic countries. The cooperation increases the possibility of comparing birth outcomes between countries.
NOMESKO (Nordisk Medicinalstatistik Komité) is a Nordic committee on health statistics that works on ensuring that health statistics in the Nordic Countries are comparable.
Value from Nordic health data - VALO project. A Nordic project aimed at strengthening the leadership and competitiveness of the Nordic countries in collaborative projects in research, development and innovation. The VALO project will enhance Nordic cross-border cooperation in the secondary use of health data and jointly prepare the Nordic countries for the implementation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) legislation.
The Nordic Group for Healthcare Personnel. Cooperation on the license of practice as healthcare professionals based on the agreement on mutual recognition of the licence to practise as healthcare professionals.
Nordic One Health Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy Group. A group of experts that focuses on antibiotic resistance, set up by the Nordic Council of Ministers
The Svalbard group - Nordic Health Preparedness. The Chief Epidemiologist represents Iceland in a Nordic group on health risk, together with a representative from The Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management.
Nordic cooperation on patient safety. The aim is to strengthen Nordic cooperation and consultation to improve patient safety and implement the WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan. The objective is to promote coordination in the Nordic countries where appropriate and to achieve better results through cooperation and joint solutions.
Scandiatransplant. Nordic organ exchange organization.
Nordic Council of Ministers eHealth Group. The purpose is to support Nordic cooperation in health information technology.
Nordic Council of Ministers eHealth Group. A subgroup that works on coordinating standards to provide a realistic comparison of the health information technology between the Nordic countries for use in government policy-making.
The Nordic Center for Classifications in Health Service. Nordisk senter for klassifikationer i helsetjenesten. The center is an accredited collaborative center of the World Health Organization in the field of classification systems (Collaborating Centre in Nordic Countries for the WHO Family of International Classifications, WHO-FIC).
The Nordic eHealth Standardization Group. A subgroup of the Nordic Council of Ministers eHealth Group that coordinates standards regarding health information exchange between healthcare institutions and patient information.
NeRN. Nordic eHealth Research Network. Coordination of standards.
EU4Health. The European Union Health Programme (2021-2027) aims to support innovation in health sciences, improvement and safety in healthcare, improve health, prevent diseases and protect citizens from cross-border health threats. The Directorate of Health is a participant in the following projects supported by the Programme:
JA NFP4Health. The Directorate of Health participates in the project which aims to shape and coordinate the work of the national focal points for the EU4Health Programme.
eHealth Network. Two employees from the National Centre for e-Health are Iceland's representatives in the eHealth Network organized by the European Union, which is a common forum for European countries on electronic cross-border health services. The employees are also represented in various sub-groups organized by the European Union regarding cross-border health services.
EU-HIP. Strengthening Member States' IT systems ensuring interoperability with HERA's IT platform for intelligence gathering. A grant funded by the European Union's Health Program (EU4Health) to 14 EU/EEA countries to strengthen the countries' IT systems, including monitoring and data collection for transboundary health threats from infectious diseases, toxins, radioactivity (CBRN). The Chief Epidemiologist leads Iceland's part in collaboration with the National Center for e-Health.
EU-JAMRAI 2. Joint Action Antimicrobial Resistance and Health-care Associated Infections. The Chief Epidemiologist leads Iceland's part, while the Ministry of Health, the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority and the Environment Agency are partners. The goal of JAMRAI 2 is action against the spread of antibiotic resistance in people, animals and the environment, in the spirit of One Health. The project concerns antibiotic stewardship, infection prevention, monitoring, access to antibiotics and raising awareness of antibiotic resistance.
Iceland-ISNSS. Improving and Strengthening National Surveillance Systems. A grant aimed at strengthening the surveillance systems for public health threats in Europe. The grant will lead to more robust infrastructure for the Chief Epidemiologist's surveillance of health threats to the public. The Chief Epidemiologist leads Iceland's participation in collaboration with the National Centre for e-Health.
JACARDI. Joint action: cardiovascular diseases and diabetes) is a collaborative project involving 18 European countries, with Iceland represented by the Directorate of Health and the Primary Health Care of the Capital Area. The project includes 142 pilot projects aimed at reducing the burden of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases on both individuals and institutions. The Directorate of Health will launch two pilot projects, establishing nation-wide registries for both diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. These projects will allow for monitoring changes in these diseases in Iceland, comparing with other European countries, and identifying areas for improvement.
JA PreventNCD. Joint Action Prevent Non-Communicable Diseases is a joint project of 25 European countries. The representatives from Iceland come from the Directorate of Health, the Prime Minister's Office, Landspitali and the Primary Health Care. The aim of the project is to implement effective measures to prevent non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Dóra Guðrún Guðmundsdóttir, head of division, manages the project on the well-being economy and Sólveig Karlsdóttir, project manager, manages the the dissemination of information for the entire project.
JA Stockpile. Joint action on Comprehensive and Sustainable Strategic Stockpiles of Medical Countermeasures Used in Crisis. A grant aimed at strengthening and/or increasing the security stockpiles of countries, including for emergency medicines and protective equipment, as well as coordination with the EU's security stockpile plan. The Chief Epidemiologist is a participant for Iceland, along with the Icelandic Medicines Agency.
JA IMPLEMENTAL. A European research project funded by the H2020 framework program (JA-02-2020/HADEA). Twenty-one European countries are participating in the project, but Iceland's representatives in the project come from the Ministry of Health and the Directorate of Health. The project began in the fall of 2021 and will last for three years. The project is extensive, but Iceland participates in the part that relates to implementing knowledge in suicide prevention based on the Austrian prevention model "SUPRA".
EU Health Security Committee (HSC). The Chief Epidemiologist is Iceland's representative in the Health and Security Committee of the European Commission. The EU's response to unexpected, serious cross-border health threats is coordinated by the EU Health and Security Committee (HSC). This is a key platform for exchanging information on specific measures taken by countries and for decision-making with the European Commission on further actions regarding preparedness, planning, risk and crisis management, and response.
ECDC. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. ECDC analyses, evaluates and disseminates information on communicable diseases. The centre works with European and international institutions.
EPSO. European Partnership for Supervisory Organizations in Health Services and Social Care. is an informal cooperation platform for supervisory organizations in Europe.
HEPA Europe - European network for the promotion of health-enhancing physical activity.
Patient-Reported Indicator Surveys (PaRIS). An International Survey on Outcome and Experiences of Patients with Chronic Conditions.
Pompidou Group. Cooperation on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention.
SINC. International collaboration of European health and care regulators. The aim is to strengthen cooperation and consultation between the supervisory authorities involved in similar projects. The purpose is to learn from each other, develop new supervision methods and further enhance our role in supervising healthcare.
WHO-FIC European Network. Since 2022, an employee from the National Centre for e-Health has been Iceland's representative in the European cooperation on the WHO's international classification system in health care. The aim is to strengthen European countries in the implementation and use of classification systems published and maintained by the WHO.
WHO. World Health Organization. The Chief Epidemiologist is the national contact to the International Health Regulations, which is an international agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO), to which Iceland is a member. The Chief Epidemiologist monitors the warnings from the WHO and assesses whether it is appropriate to recommend that epidemic prevention measures be taken. The Chief Epidemiologist then sends information to the WHO about events that may threaten public health and concern the international community.
OECD Health Statistics. Data dissemination to the OECD Health Statistics database.
OECD Working Party on Health Care Quality and Outcomes. A working group on the selection of quality indicators, the collection of data, interpretation and dissemination. The working party shall review, advise, and communicate with the OECD.
SNOMED-CT. Collaboration with the international organization SNOMED-CT International, which owns and operates one of the largest international medical vocabularies in use today.
Cooperation in the field of nutrition at WHO.