On 18 September 2026, the Rotterdam Global Health Initiative celebrated its 15th birthday, reflecting on the research, teaching and policy impact of its 350+ members around the world. The Anniversary was a moment to acknowledge this work and the progress made through partnerships facilitated by the RGHI network.
From building a consortium on early mother and childcare in low-and middle-income countries, to training gastrointestinal surgeons in Sierra Leone, each speaker illustrated what equitable, co-created and locally grounded global health research looks like in practice. The presenters shared lessons learned along the way, including the importance of consistently showing up in the ways local communities need, rather than pursuing the agenda of those initiating the partnership.
Dr. Zemzem Shigute Shuka (ISS) opened with lessons from building the ROOTS1000 consortium. The consortium grew from a small, but ambitious comment from an RGHI colleague: “it would be a shame if RGHI didn’t lead a consortium on this”. The comment, engrained in Zemzem, came to flourish as an opportunity to build a consortium committed to studying optimal health and scalability during the first 1,000 days of life across five lower-and middle-income countries. Across these countries, a shared constraint- fragmented delivery of care and stalled scale-up.
Prof. Alice Lakati of Amref International University, Kenya and a consortium partner then shared the ROOTS1000 story through the lens of Kenya’s primary healthcare system. Co-creation involved country health officials, nurses, midwives, community health promoters and NGOs in Kajiado and Nairobi. Her reflections, alongside Zemzem’s, highlighted that partnership is not always straightforward, but shared commitment to the goals of ROOTS1000 is what keeps the partnership moving forward.
Beata Reiber MD PhD, a surgical oncologist at Erasmus Medical Center, closed with INSPIRE-SL, an initiative bringing together partners from Sierra Leone, Norway and the Netherlands to embed and share surgical expertise within universities and establish a local faculty in Sierra Leone- where six surgeons serve a population of 8 million people, and 92% of surgical need goes unmet. Her message was clear: true partnership means transferring ownership, not simply skills. The challenge, she reminded us, is rarely intention, but who holds the power.
The morning also celebrated researchers who encapsulated their work through images in the RGHI Best Image Award competition. Congratulations to Anadita Bardia for her research in India, and to runner-up Runnah Kutsokwe for her work in Malawi.
The event ended by RGHI director Dr. Igna Bonfrer inviting participants to look ahead to 2030 and to identify what matters most for the next chapter. Among the reflections was the importance of ensuring that partnerships are also initiated locally, that link to the planetary health agenda are explored and that funding is structured in ways that give local partners greater autonomy.
A special thank you goes to all our RGHI members for making this network what it is and for facilitating the collaborations it enables, as exemplified by the ROOTS1000 consortium. We also extend our thanks to the many colleagues and communities they represent and work alongside.
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About RGHI
Rotterdam Global Health Initiative (RGHI) is the academic interdisciplinary network initiated and sponsored by the Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands, which has evolved into a vibrant community of global partners across more than 30 low- and middle-income countries.- Related content
