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 on birth registers. The cooperation increases the possibility of comparing birth outcomes between countries.
NOMESKO (Nordisk Medicinalstatistik Komité) is a Nordic committee on health statistics that works to ensure comparability of health statistics across the Nordic Countries.
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 on the secondary use of health data and jointly prepare the Nordic countries for implementing 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 license 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
Nordic Group for Health Preparedness (Svalbard Group). The Chief Epidemiologist represents Iceland, together with representatives from the Ministry of Health, Civil Protection and Landspítali – The National University Hospital of Iceland, in a Nordic group on information sharing and cooperation regarding preparedness for health threats in the fields of public health and social services.
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 organisation.
The Nordic Centre for Classifications in Health Service. Nordisk senter for klassifikationer i helsetjenesten. The centre is an accredited collaborative centre of the World Health Organisation in the field of classification systems (Collaborating Centre in Nordic Countries for the WHO Family of International Classifications, WHO-FIC).
NeRN. Nordic eHealth Research Network. Coordination of standards.
Nordic Baltic Mortality Group. A Nordic collaboration on the coding of causes of death, which aims to harmonise the registration of causes of death in the Nordic and Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania).
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.
EU-JAMRAI 2. Joint Action Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare-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 to act 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 and control, 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 a more robust infrastructure to support the Chief Epidemiologist's surveillance of public health threats. The aim of the project is to strengthen the digital infrastructure for infectious disease surveillance in Iceland in accordance with the Communicable Diseases Act.
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 individuals and institutions alike. The Directorate of Health will launch two pilot projects to establish nationwide registries for 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 information dissemination for the entire project.
JA Stockpile. Joint action on Comprehensive and Sustainable Strategic Stockpiles of Medical Countermeasures Used in Crisis. The grant aims to strengthen the framework for national emergency stockpiles in the face of health threats, including for emergency medicines and protective equipment, as well as alignment with the EU stockpiling strategy. The Chief Epidemiologist is participating on behalf of Iceland, together with the Icelandic Medicines Agency.
JA IMPLEMENTAL. A European research project funded by the H2020 framework program (JA-02-2020/HADEA). 21 European countries are participating in the project, but Iceland's representatives 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 component focused on implementing knowledge for suicide prevention based on the Austrian prevention model "SUPRA".
EU Health Security Committee (HSC). The Chief Epidemiologist represents Iceland on the European Commission's Health Security Committee. The Health Security Committee coordinates the responses of EU and EEA Member States to serious cross-border health threats and public health emergencies. The Health Security Committee is a key forum for exchanging information on specific national measures and, together with the Commission, serves as a forum for decision-making on action relating to planning, preparedness, risk and crisis management, and response.
ECDC. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The Chief Epidemiologist cooperates with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control on the cross-border surveillance of communicable diseases.
EPSO. European Partnership for Supervisory Organisations in Health Services and Social Care is an informal cooperation platform for supervisory organisations 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 healthcare supervision.
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' implementation and use of classification systems published and maintained by the WHO.
EU CanScreen. European Joint Action on Cancer Screening. The primary objective of the project is to reduce the cancer burden and achieve equitable access to screening throughout the EU.
WHO. World Health Organization. The Chief Epidemiologist is Iceland's National Focal Point for liaison with the corresponding contact point at the World Health Organization under the International Health Regulations. The Chief Epidemiologist monitors alerts from the WHO and assesses whether it is appropriate to take disease control measures in Iceland, as well as providing the WHO with information on events that may threaten public health and are of concern to 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.