The World Health Organization has designated Cornell University’s division of nutritional sciences a collaborating center — the organization will partner with the University on the creation and implementation of the public health policy, the University announced last week.
Cornell will be one of over 700 WHO collaborating centers in over eighty countries working on areas such as nursing, occupational health, nutrition and health technologies, according to the WHO website.
This four-year long partnership will further Cornell’s involvement with the WHO, going beyond the current collaboration, which includes the “Summer Institute for Systematic Reviews in Nutrition for Global Policy Making” — a two-week training program for policy makers that was launched in 2014.
“The WHO Center will provide opportunities for Cornell faculty and their students to be more directly involved in assisting the World Health Organizations meet the needs of the member states of the United Nations who seek policy guidance based on rigorous scientific research and evidence evaluation,” said Patrick Stover, director and professor of nutritional sciences.
Stover indicated that the University’s role in the partnership will center around addressing issues of global public health.
“Cornell will provide to WHO, as needed, both the substantive content and technical expertise in areas of nutrition and global public health,” Stover said.
The collaboration center will build upon a decades-long history of partnership between the WHO and Cornell’s division of nutritional sciences. Many faculty members have served on WHO expert committees, consulted on technical issues, assisted in the preparation of systematic reviews of scientific evidence and authored technical and policy briefs, according to Stover.
Stover added that he has been highly impressed with the WHO and their “unwavering commitment to improving the public health of all populations and nations.”
“Working with the WHO has always been intellectually stimulating and professionally rewarding — they provide opportunities for scientists to have [a] real impact that reaches and benefits global populations,” Stover said.