The International Health Economics Association (IHEA), the peak global health economics body, has named the Kirby Institute’s Professor Virginia Wiseman President-Elect.
The organisation has over 1,500 members from more than 100 countries, bringing together the world’s health economists who are working towards improved, equitable health and health care globally. Prof Wiseman has been a member of IHEA since 1999, and has been a Board Member since 2018.
“I am honoured to have been voted President-Elect of the IHEA. In the wake of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen increased recognition amongst governments of the returns that can come from investing in people’s health and in health systems. Health economics and IHEA have become more relevant than ever,” says Prof Wiseman.
Prof Wiseman is a leading health economist and has partnered with universities and research institutions predominantly in the Asia-Pacific region and East and West Africa for 25 years. Her research includes economic evaluations and trials of interventions to support health system scale-up of interventions targeting a range of infectious challenges including HIV and bacterial sexually transmitted infections, malaria, tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance, and more recently COVID-19. It also includes several studies evaluating the performance of health financing systems, particularly in relation to goals of equity and universal health coverage. Prof Wiseman holds joint appointments at the Kirby Institute and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She leads the Health Economics Research Network (HERN) at UNSW and the Health Economics and Health Systems Research Group at the Kirby Institute.
As a Board Member of IHEA, Prof Wiseman has helped co-develop a number of policies and guidelines; among them the organisation’s equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives. “I am passionate about inclusiveness, and committed to supporting our EDI initiatives, to further enhance our membership and engagement across geography, as well as all career stages and backgrounds.”
Prof Wiseman will serve a six year term in the role; two years as President-Elect; two years as President; and two years as Past President.