Dear colleagues,

We are happy, although very belated, to share the results of the votes of the Section President elections. 

Prof. Herwig Ostermann received the majority of the votes at 43,1%.
We congratulate Herwig and Vice-President Dr. Florian Tille and look forward to working with them for the upcoming three years. 

A big thank you as well to João Magalhães and Linda Montanari for submitting their nominations!

EUPHA again extends its heartfelt gratitude Sofia, Vice-President Rana Orhan, and steering committee members David Stuckler, Anne-Marie Yazbeck and Silvio Brusaferro for their dedication and invaluable contributions to EUPHA and the Section.

Thank you to those that voted and participated in shaping the future leadership of our Section.

And now over to Herwig and Florian!

As you all know from public health policy and politics in theory and practise, at the onset of national health reform endeavours – as now the case in Austria – challenges can become intense and time-consuming. However, this should not be an excuse, as I am aware that many other national health systems are currently undergoing reforms, which is putting health policy and politics very much in the spotlight.

In fact, this was what Florian (my vice-president) and I felt, when colleagues approached us after the results of the section presidency elections were published on the EUPHA website. Then members from EUPHA also including from other sections contacted us to exchange ideas on how incorporating public health policy and politics into other areas of public health could enrich the common understanding of decision-making processes. Addressing issues of a broader (geo)political context, such as the shifting focus of public expenditure away from health and social welfare in the context of conflict and war or the declining solidarity within  (European) social welfare systems caused by populism and fragmentation could make public health as a whole discipline more relevant and up-to-date.

As you can see, stakes are high and the call for action has already reached us on several occasions in line with our section’s mission. And as outlined also in Florian’s and my presidency manifesto, we want build upon the achievements of our predecessors and continue further evolving and promoting public health policy and politics in EUPHA and beyond.

As a first (and may be also the most important) step we are seeking to set up a steering committee to develop with you our work program for 2026 and beyond.

For this purpose, we are calling for expressions of interest to participate in the section’s steering committee by February 28^th. Kindly apply with a short CV and one or two further paragraphs expressing your motivation to take part. We aim for a group of five to seven colleagues and will get back to you as soon as possible.

Contact us at eupha_phpp@goeg.at

Best wishes

Herwig Ostermann and Florian Tille