In June 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the Health Inequality Monitoring (HIM) Network —a WHO-led initiative committed to advancing health equity and inclusive health systems. Hosted by the Department of Data, Digital Health, Analytics and AI, the HIM Network advocates for the implementation of the Inequality Monitoring and Analysis Strategy , which supports three goals:
- strengthening capacity for health inequality monitoring;
- generating and disseminating evidence on health inequality; and
- developing health inequality monitoring tools, resources and best practices.
The HIM Network's initial membership consists of 12 institutions, spanning all WHO regions and encompassing over 100 individual contributors:
- Bruyère Health Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Canada
- Centre d'Epidémiologie et de Recherche en santé des populations (CERPOP), Université de Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, INSERM, France
- Health Equity Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran
- Indian Council of Medical Research, Regional Medical Research Centre Bhubaneswar, India
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, United States of America
- Makerere University School of Public Health, Maternal Newborn and Child Health Centre of Excellence, Uganda
- National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Australia
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
- Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne, Australia
- Office for National Statistics (Health and International Directorate), United Kingdom
- School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, China
- School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Germany
The 12 members were selected from 68 applications received through an open call in March 2025 on the basis of their training and capacity-building experience, technical capacity, engagement in national and global initiatives, publication and research contribution, as well as innovation and methodological development. Institutional membership was confirmed in accordance with the WHO Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors (FENSA) policy.
"The Network has great potential to expand health inequality monitoring practices in Member States and promote its impact for advancing health equity," said Ahmad Reza Hosseinpoor, Lead of Health Equity Monitoring at WHO. "The institutions bring diverse skills, expertise and perspectives that will strengthen and enrich this area of work."
The governance of the HIM Network is supported by its Secretariat, based at WHO Headquarters. A Steering Committee, comprised of individuals from network member institutions, is being established to provide advice and input for the Network's coordinated development.
A second open call for applicants to join the HIM Network is anticipated in early 2026.
WHO's work in monitoring health inequality
Health inequality monitoring provides evidence on who is being left behind and informs health policies, programmes and practices that aim to close existing gaps and achieve health equity. Health equity is a central principle outlined in the WHO General Programme of Work (GPW 14) . The creation of the HIM Network is aligned with the Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly Resolution (WHA74.16) , emphasizing the importance of addressing social, economic, and environmental determinants of health, and the value of multi-stakeholder collaboration to achieve health equity. It calls on Member States to strengthen inequality monitoring systems and intersectoral actions for health equity.
